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The Pearl Seekers 




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THE HULL OF THE CINDERELLA LAY BEFORE HIM 





THE 

PEARL SEEKERS 

A Tale of the Southern Seas 


BY 

ALEXANDER MACDONALD, F.R.G.S. 

Author of “ The Lost Explorers,” “ The Quest of the Black 
Opals,” “ In Search of Eldorado,” etc. 


ILLUSTRATED BY EDWARD S. HODGSON 


BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED 

NEW YORK LONDON GLASGOW DUBLIN BOMBAY 



\A> 




LIBRARY of CONGRESS | 

Iwo CoDles Received 

SEP 19 I90r 

CmyrtrM Enty 

c^r/'xxgsz 

COPY D. 


Copyright, 1907 
by Blackie & Son, Limited . 


CONTENTS 


Chap. Page 

I. The Partners . ' i 

II. Unwelcome Visitors 25 

III. The Raising of the ‘ Cinderella* 40 

IV. The ‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads .... 70 

V. 158° 5' by 4 ° 2' 3" 96 

VI. Some Discoveries 120 

VII. Gentlemen of the Twentieth Century Adven- 
turers 146 

VIII. On the Pearl Beds 169 

IX. The Spoils of the Sea 191 

X. A German Cruiser puts in an Appearance . . .214 

XI. Tom has a Strange Adventure 238 

XII. Bearding the Lions in their Den 256 

XIII. Thomson’s Transformer does Good Work . . . 284 

XIV. The Gun is Fired 308 

XV. The Adventurers find the Island ...... 333 











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ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


“ The Hull of the Cinderella Lay Before Him ” . Frontis. 63 

“Thomson Threw Himself Upon the Man ” 21 

“That is the New Turbine Steamer Mahreno” . . .96 

“Thomson Caught at Some Clinging Vegetation as He 




Fell ” 135 




“The Diver is Attacked by an Octopus” 188 

“ If You Come Another Step I Will Shoot You,” She 


/ 


Said 242 

“Next Moment There Was a Terrific Report” .... 356 
Map Showing the Position of the Pearl Island . . . 124 

Map of the Two Islands 180 



PREFACE 


I have based this story on some personal experiences 
in the South Seas, and on some well-known incidents 
which occurred there, of which I happen to have some 
special knowledge. 

The many coral-fringed lagoons which dot the south- 
western Pacific are very rich in pearl-shell deposits; but 
the best of them are within the German sphere of influ- 
ence. Nevertheless, I know of one or two parties which 
set out from Sydney to work those vast shell beds. 

Islands appear and disappear in the region indicated 
in a manner that would seriously interfere with naviga- 
tion were there any trade routes in the vicinity. 

As for the adventurers, I need only remind my readers 
of the gang of very modern pirates who stole the High- 
land Railway Company’s steamer Ferret. This vessel, 
as is well known, was engaged in several more or less 
nefarious practices before she was finally recaptured at 
Melbourne. 

Youthful inventors we have in every city of our em- 
pire, and what could be more natural than that such a 
combination of intelligence and enthusiasm should em- 
bark upon a scheme which offered such alluring pros- 
v 


vi 


The Pearl Seekers 


pects? (Youth never takes risk into account, and often 
that fact helps considerably to carry a venture through. 
Captain Inglis is a specimen of the reckless type of sailors 
that the “ Younger Nations ” are rearing to help to keep 
the old flag flying, and Ah Sing and Kotay are with me 
just now, as real as flesh and blood can be, in North 
Queensland. 


ALEXANDER MACDONALD. 


The Pearl Seekers 


CHAPTER I 

The Partners 

It was a stormy night in late autumn, and most good 
people whose business did not compel them to be out- 
side were sitting round comfortable fires at home. 
Out in the suburbs of the great city the storm raged 
fiercely and the wind and rain blew down the streets 
in violent bursts of fury that, to the unfortunate home- 
less beings with whom every large city abounds, caused 
the cheery dwellings behind the glowing blinds to ap- 
pear like visions of Paradise. But there were at least 
three people out that night in Worchester who gave 
little heed to the storm, and they were converging from 
the three most outlying districts on the suburb of Rose- 
dale, towards the last house in the main roadway. In 
this house a youth of about eighteen years, on whose 
handsome face were engraven the deep lines which de- 
note the student, sat at a table and scrutinised carefully 
a very complete chart of the world. 

“ One-five-eight — five, by four, two, three,” he mut- 
tered. “No, there is no island marked there, and 
this is the latest chart I can get. Evidently some of 

(b 761) B 


2 


The Pearl Seekers 


these dots scattered between the Solomons and the Bis- 
marck Archipelago are meant to indicate generally that 
there are islands throughout the area they cover, so if 
our island is known there is certainly little attention 
paid to it, and that is good enough for us.” 

He paused and pulled out his watch, and at that 
moment footsteps sounded on the gravel path outside 
and the door-bell rang. 

“ That will be Jack,” he continued, rising and walk- 
ing towards the door. “ It is just three seconds past 
eight, but I can’t complain of seconds on a night like 
this.” He gave three peculiar knocks on the inside of 
the door before opening it, which were immediately re- 
sponded to by a repetition of the same on the outside. 
“ One five eight,” he then called. 

“Five,” came the answer, “by ?” 

“ Four,” he cried, listening intently that he might 
make no mistake. 

“ Two three,” came back from the outside ; “ and 
hurry, Tom, it is very cold out here.” 

“ All right, Jack,” said the student, opening the door ; 
“ but we must be careful, you know, for now that our 
advertisement is out all sorts of inquisitive people may 
come prying around.” 

“Is it out?” inquired Jack, as he entered and hung 
up his soaking coat. 

“ Yes, I read it in two of the evening papers to- 
night, so our visitors may begin coming any time. 
But come in to our meeting-room. We have four min- 
utes and one second to wait before David and James ar- 
rive.” 

The two passed into the room where Tom had been 


The Partners 


3 


studying the chart, and sat down. It was the only 
lighted apartment in the house, which was what is usu- 
ally described as a villa. 

The new-comer seemed much more youthful than 
the other, but in point of fact he was only a week 
younger. His was a happy disposition, and as he never 
worried himself about matters that did not call for his 
particular attention, the lines underneath the eyes and 
in the forehead, so prominent in his companion’s, were 
absent in his face. 

“ Is it really ready, then ? ” he asked, a trace of 
boyish eagerness in his voice. “ Did the parts and the 
tubes all fit ? ” 

“ Certainly. They were made to our own sizes, and 
could not therefore do otherwise than fit.”’ 

“ Oh, I forgot for the moment, Tom, that I was 
talking to one who had made a science of exactness. 
Other people often make mistakes, you know.” 

“ But we don’t, Jack; we can’t afford to. But here 
are the others; I made five minutes past eight their 
hour, as three of you coming together might attract 
attention. Satisfy yourself that it is our comrades, Jack, 
and let them in.” 

Jack went to the door as the bell rang, and knocked 
as Tom had done, receiving in return the answering 
signal. “ One five eight,” he cried, before opening the 
door. 

“Five, by ?” answered those outside. 

“ Four ” he further suggested. 

“ Two three,” completed his comrades. 

“ Anything else,” demanded Jack, who, although 
knowing very well by the voices and by the correctness 


4 


The Pearl Seekers 


of the answers that those seeking admission were his 
comrades, dearly loved to prolong any situation which 
savoured of mystery. 

“ You can add ‘ south/ if you like,” came the prompt 
reply, “ but if you don’t hurry up we’ll add something 
else when we do get inside.” 

“ Come in,” said Jack throwing open the door and 
admitting his comrades, David Thomson and James 
Powell, two young engineer apprentices of the same age 
as himself. They passed into the room where their 
fourth comrade sat, and thus were gathered together 
the four partners in a scheme as wild and improbable 
as any dreamt of in their generation. They termed 
themselves the Union Quartette, because they comprised 
one of each country forming the British nation. Tom 
Grenville, the leader of the party, was as English as 
could be. Jack Davis was of Welsh extraction, Thom- 
son was a Scot and of very powerful build, and Powell 
was a son of the Emerald Isle. Grenville was a stu- 
dent in Worchester University, and a brilliant one. 
Davis was a budding chemist with a love for experi- 
menting which his employer and friends said would 
some day carry him higher than ever his own efforts 
would. He was certainly inclined to be careless. Both 
Thomson and Powell were engineers of the type that 
one day develops into men who take command of big 
things. 

On that dismal night in October, however, the four 
partners had come from the outlying parts of Worches- 
ter to hold a final meeting to discuss their plans and 
prospects, and all were brimming over with enthusiasm, 
although Grenville did not show it to the same extent 
as his comrades did. 


The Partners 


5 


“ Well, boys,” said Grenville, as they seated them- 
selves round the table on which his map lay spread, 
“you all know what we are here for; but as it is just 
possible that some of us do not recognize the risk or 
the importance of our next step, it is only fair that I, 
being your elder ” 

“ Cut that out, Tom,” cried Davis ; “ there is not 
one here more than ten days younger than you, and 
Thomson is only half-an-hour ” 

“ — Should lay everything before you,” continued 
Tom, ignoring the interruption, “ so that you can fully 
weigh the responsibilities and definitely decide upon the 
project that lies under our immediate consideration.” 

“ A very good speech that,” commented Thomson 
critically. “ Fire away, until we see what it is about.” 

“And don’t be any more long-winded than you can 
help, Tom,” said Powell; “I am just burning to get on 
to the next stage.” 

“ Very well, gentlemen,” — Tom’s style was that of 
the lecture-room, — “ to go over matters briefly for the 
sake of placing on record in our minutes a general idea 
of our project, so that, should anything happen, those 
who may be interested in us may know all that is to be 
known, is my intention. We four comrades of the last 
several years, having observed that this country, like all 
civilised countries generally, was overcrowded, and that 
competition in everything was already so great that 
very little chance existed for the rising generation of 
attaining to fame and fortune before they were too old 
to take advantage of what these adjuncts offered, re- 
solved that we would strike out on a new line for our- 
selves in parts not yet commercialized by the influence 
of civilisation. Our friends laughed at us for holding 


6 


The Pearl Seekers 


what they termed nonsensical and impracticable ideas, 
but we had recognized before we left school the great 
truth that if one sets one’s mind upon any object, how- 
ever distant it may appear to be, one will assuredly reach 
it some day, by dint of constant application ; and so we 
persevered in our endeavours to accomplish our ambition. 
That was, as you know, to transport ourselves to a cer- 
tain island in the South Pacific Ocean, with suitable 
appliances to work the vast deposits of pearl shell which 
we believe exist there at depths from a few feet to the 
ledges round the island at sixteen fathoms. We decided 
on doing this while yet at school, the day after the infor- 
mation that such an island and its treasure existed reached 
me in the strange manner you know. We need not 
further enter into that matter at present; the informa- 
tion, we had every reason to believe, was reliable, and 
our investigations have borne out our beliefs so far. 
But between that island and four boys who did not pos- 
sess among them more than a few shillings lay half the 
world, and then between the island itself and its treasure 
lay anything up to one hundred feet of water — ver- 
tically. However, we made our plans; you, David and 
James, became engineers so that you might yourselves 
invent and construct any appliances required. Jack 
plunged into the mysteries of chemistry so as to be able 
to supply any knowledge in that line which might be 
necessary; and I, as we all agreed, devoted myself to 
acquiring information on all subjects likely to be of 
service to us. The results are such as we may well be 
proud of. We have now in our possession, in the next 
room, a patent diving apparatus which we know can do 
submarine work that no other dress hitherto invented 


The Partners 


7 


is able to perform. We also possess several other pieces 
of apparatus which will ensure our being able to raise 
the pearl shell when we arrive at the island, and now all 
that remains is to get there.” 

“ And that seems to be a problem that can’t be 
solved so very easily,” put in Thomson. “ I am inclined 
to fancy we should have thought of that part first, and 
then invented and built our diving-dresses. I do not 
wish to appear down-hearted, for I am not, but the get- 
ting to the island will require something more than 
thought concentration, I fear.” 

“ Well, has not everything come out as we calculated 
so far ? ” demanded Grenville. 

“ Yes, but the next part is beyond us. We have 
made everything ourselves as yet, but unless we start 
to make an ocean liner now I don’t see how we are to 
get to the South Pacific.” 

“ It does look as if fixing our mind upon getting 
there will not help us much,” said Powell. “ I was 
talking to my father last night about the various ways 
of raising money for anything, and he almost had a fit 
when I suggested our plan.” 

“ I don’t care,” said Davis. “ We have done things 
already which looked just as impossible, under Tom’s 
directions, and I do not doubt for a moment that he 
will engineer us through this last part too. Why, 
boys, just think of what we have done, and what means 
we had to do it. Just imagine four boys renting an 
empty house like this and working secretly during our 
spare time to complete, bit by bit, that dress and those 
air-pumps, and that invention of David’s and a host of 
other things. Why, we could sell those things now and 


8 


The Pearl Seekers 

start to make them over again, and the money we got 
for the first lot would pay our passages to the nearest 
port by one of the big liners.” 

“ Boys,” interrupted Grenville, “ I must protest 
against this spirit of doubting which seems to have risen 
among us. It is fatal to our enterprise. We must be 
whole-hearted. Have we not accepted it as our first 
maxim that mind is superior to matter.” 

“ But can it annihilate fifteen thousand miles of 
ocean ? ” asked Thomson. 

“ Certainly ; the human mind is never more ingenious 
than when it is confronted by an apparently impossible 
barrier. I admit that we cannot transmit ourselves by 
thought, but we can so apply our minds to other things 
— less abstract if you like — and thus call different forces 
into play, which by reacting will indirectly bring about 
our required result. But we must not doubt. We must 
settle on our object, and calmly, as we have done in the 
past, plan our way towards its accomplishment, and when 
unforeseen difficulties arise, as they must do at times, 
recognize them as such, and bring our mental powers 
again into play to enable us to surmount them or get 
them removed. Now, this trouble of getting to the is- 
land was evidently a long way ahead, even as there are 
minor worries to be contended with after we are there, 
and, as you know, when we first arranged to make those 
appliances in the next room ourselves, we agreed to 
advertise for a fifth partner when the time came. He 
was to buy his fifth interest at a price calculated to pro- 
vide all necessary funds, and as we worked all that out 
last meeting and I have adjusted and tried the dress 
since myself, we are now ready to welcome our fifth 
partner. 

“ But we have grown older than when we first 


The Partners 


9 


thought we could get some one to provide money to 
carry out the wild scheme of four schoolboys,” said 
Thomson. “ No one would look at an advertisement 
such as we could insert in the newspapers. We have 
no guarantee; nor dare we take him into our confidence 
for fear that he might himself apply his money to carry- 
ing out our scheme with our patent.” 

“ And anyhow,” said Powell, “ if any one did answer 
our advertisement, it would probably be some crank 
who wouldn’t pull with us, or some one out of idle 
curiosity. I think we’ll have to try some other plan. 
But what sort of advertisement could we concoct at any 
rate ? ” 

“ Here is what I inserted this afternoon,” replied 
Grenville, “ and it is out now in at least two papers : 
‘ Wanted a partner with capital sufficient to carry out 
a great wealth-raising scheme in the South Seas. 
Only a fifth interest will be given, and no dealings will 
be transacted with any one except those who are ready 
personally to pay the money. Apply Seaview, Rose- 
dale.’” 

“ That’s splendid,” commented Jack when Tom had 
finished. “ I like the way in which the definite and 
indefinite articles have been used, and the general com- 
pleteness of the thing. Any one could see that we did 
not spare expense for the sake of an adjective or 
two.” 

“ No,” agreed Thomson with his usual imperturbable 
face, “ and they cost a halfpenny each too ; but who do 
you think would answer that thing unless some one anx- 
ious to know what our scheme is, when we have not 
even stated how much money is required ? ” 

“ I had not thought of that particular point, David,” 
said Grenville ; “ I’ll get it altered to-morrow. But now 


10 


The Pearl Seekers 


that everything is finished and we only await our fifth 
partner, are you all sure you can take part in our ad- 
venture? As you know, no one cares enough about me 
to interest himself in what I do or where I go, although 
my uncle has really done all he could for me since my 
parents were lost” 

“ And I am the same as you, Tom,” cried Jack ; 
“ my parents don’t care what I do so long as I don’t get 
into serious trouble.” 

“ As for me,” said Powell, “ I can’t hope to help my 
people by remaining in this overcrowded country, and 
it is therefore in their interest I go away. They may 
raise objections, but they will be of a sentimental kind 
only.” 

“ My father and grandfather were adventurers be- 
fore me,” said Thomson. “ They did not ask their par- 
ents’ consent when they began filibustering, and I see 
no reason why they should object to me following their 
example.” 

“ Except that we are not filibusters, David,” said Tom. 

“ Oh, call it what you like. I don’t care although we 
become pirates, only the twentieth century has no sym- 
pathy with them. Hullo, boys ! I heard the gate clang. 
Some one is coming here.” 

“ It may be a policeman,” whispered Jack. “ There 
goes the bell.” 

“ Who can it be ? ” said Powell. ft No one has any 
right here, and no one knows us.” 

“•It will be some one come to offer himself as our 
fifth partner in answer to our advertisement,” said Gren- 
ville, rising to his feet. “ You fellows had better get 
behind these curtains and put on your masks. I will 
talk to him and find out what he really wants.” He 


The Partners 


1 1 

walked to the door, and the others slipped behind the 
curtains as directed. 

The bell rang violently a second time before Tom 
reached the door, but he did not hurry himself, and 
before he did eventually open it he held concealed in 
his hand a tiny revolver. A cloaked figure stood in 
the pouring rain on the threshold and in the dim, strag- 
gling light that issued from the one lit room gazed at 
Tom for a moment without speaking. 

“ I am afraid you have made a mistake,” said Tom 
at length, “ and I fear I cannot assist you much in 
finding where you wish to go, as I am a stranger here 
myself.’' 

“ Is this Seaview ? ” asked the stranger abruptly. 

“ That is the name the house bears,” answered Tom. 

“ Then I have come in answer to your advertisement. 
If I like the appearance of those holding the other four- 
fifths, I will join you. But you might ask me inside. I 
am freezing.” 

“ I beg your pardon,” said Tom. “ Come with me.” 
He turned and led the way towards the room where 
his comrades were. “ Would you kindly close the 
door,” he said to the stranger, who followed him. The 
latter walked back the few steps necessary to comply 
with his request, and Tom watched him closely. “ Two 
feet six, steps,” he muttered. “ Ah, well, I don’t think 
he’ll leave without our consent.” 

“ Why, the door is closed,” cried the stranger. 
“ What do you mean by asking me to close an auto- 
matic-closing door ? ” He was somewhat suspicious, 
and stood still for a moment in the hall. 

“ Dear me ! ” exclaimed Tom. “ I had forgotten. I 
am growing very absent-minded.” 


12 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Lead on, then. Excuse my not removing my coat, 
but I usually like to see where I am before I do that.” 

“ Doubtless a wise precaution ; but you came here 
of your own free will, and at the present moment can 
take your leave without any one interfering with you.” 

“Oh, no, I do not intend leaving, my strange friend, 
until I know more about this South Sea scheme.” 

“ Then come in here,” said Tom, “ and I will satisfy 
you as far as I think proper.” 

They entered the lighted room, and the stranger be- 
held Tom’s boyish features and cried out in astonish- 
ment : “ Why, you are only a boy ! ” 

“ I might say the same of you if your face were a 
little more uncovered,” retorted Tom coldly. 

“ I meant no offence. I merely wondered how you 
could possibly have any connection with — well — that ad- 
vertisement.” 

“ From which I infer you take it to be not what it 
purported to be.” 

“ Not exactly. Something in it appealed to me, and 
I was very curious.” 

“ Thank you, but we have more to do than satisfy 
curiosity. Good evening.” 

“ But if everything is square I want to become a 
member of your syndicate.” 

“ Then I am afraid we cannot give you any guar- 
antee. My comrades and I will tell you our plan, and 
then if you are still willing to join, and can provide the 
funds, we will show you what we have done. First, of 
course, we want to know who you are. Here are the 
other three partners.” 

Powell, Thomson, and Davis emerged from behind 
the curtains as he spoke, masks covering the upper part 


The Partners 


13 


of their faces and completely concealing their identity. 
The stranger sprang back and placed his right hand in 
his coat pocket. “ I did not think I was coming into a 
den of robbers,” he said quietly. 

“ And you are wrong if you say we are anything 
like that,” cried Thomson aggressively. 

“Oh, am I?” Then why this mystery? Can your 
faces not be seen? Really, I think you are very fool- 
ish to try this game on in these times. How do you 
know that I am not a detective with a dozen men round 
the house now ? ” 

“ We have broken no laws,” began Jack. 

“ It will be bad for you if you are one of those pry- 
ing policemen,” said Powell. 

“ He’s only a boy,” said Thomson more kindly. 
“ Give him a show, lads. He is plucky, and probably 
made a bet with some little schoolgirl cousin or some 
one that he would come alone and find out what our 
mysterious scheme was. He is no more a policeman 
than we are robbers.” 

The stranger was scrutinising the visible part of the 
faces of the four as Thomson spoke, and apparently 
noted that the upper lips of all had never required the 
use of a razor. He kept his hand in his coat pocket, 
nevertheless, and Tom knew that his hand grasped a 
revolver there. His own was up his sleeve. 

“We know you are not a detective,” said Tom in 
a somewhat softer tone of voice than he had used pre- 
viously, “ but, as my companions fill positions in town 
and we do not yet know who you are, they dare not make 
themselves known until we have some assurance that 
you will not cause them trouble.” 

“ Do you mind telling me what your great South 


H 


The Pearl Seekers 


Sea scheme is, then, and perhaps I will be able to sat- 
isfy you that I have no ulterior motive in coming here.” 
The stranger had been somewhat excited during the 
conversation between the four comrades, but he had now 
regained his composure. He threw back his coat and 
removed his muffler, disclosing the features of a young 
man not more than a year or so older than themselves. 
His face, though determined in expression, was a pleas- 
ant one, and the four partners were at once favourably 
impressed. 

“ Our advertisement was rather vague,” began Tom, 
“ because we had no experience in that sort of work ; 
but, briefly, what we wanted was capital to enable us to 
get out to a certain island which is extremely rich in 
pearl shell. We have already invented and constructed 
machinery and appliances which practically ensure our 
success when we arrive there, but we cannot move farther 
until we obtain money to pay our passages to Singa — 
to the nearest port, and to purchase some sort of craft 
on which to continue our voyage and bring back our 
spoils. We, of course, also require funds to equip our 
own vessel, buy stores and some necessary tools.” 

“ How much money do you want ? ” 

“We have everything figured out. Passages for four 
to the nearest port cost one hundred and fifty-two 
pounds.” 

“ But I thought he who provided the capital was to 
be admitted as a partner ? ” 

“ Certainly.” 

“Then you will have to make allowances for five 
passage tickets.” 

The partners looked at each other. They had not 


The Partners 


iS 

dreamt of matters assuming such a business-like form 
so soon. 

“ That will cost exactly one hundred and ninety 
pounds, then,” said Tom, “ and an extra ten pounds for 
food-stuff s, of course. We do all the work ourselves, 
and all partners are alike in every way.” 

“ I see ; but how do you mean to procure your papers 
for the voyage to your island at Sydney— — ?” 

“Sydney!” cried all. “Who mentioned Sydney?” 

“ No one, but as thirty-eight pounds is the price of 
the ticket, and that is the present price of the cheapest 
P. & O. passage to Sydney, I assumed you meant that 
port.” 

“ You are very shrewd,” said Tom, with a smile; 
“ but, as you cannot do us any harm with that knowl- 
edge, we may as well admit that Sydney is the port we 
would prefer, although Singapore also has advantages.” 

“ Yes, I suppose so. We could purchase a suitable 
lugger there much cheaper. But what is the total cost ? ” 

“Tickets, £190; lugger, £250; stores for six months, 
say, another £50; and then allow still another £50 for 
incidental and unforeseen expenses. That makes £540 in 
all.” 

“ I can see none of you have ever travelled before,” 
laughed the stranger, producing a cheque-book ; “ you 
must indeed be very innocent if you think you can 
travel more than half-way round this planet without 
spending more than your passage money. What about 
dock dues, port expenses, hotels, customs, arrangements 
for the final setting out, and the necessary labour?” 

“ No,” said Grenville, “ we have forgotten nothing, 
nor have we made any mistake. We naturally were 


1 6 


The Pearl Seekers 

prepared to pay our own incidental expenses, for we 
have no right to expect our partner to pay for anything 
beyond the bare cost of the expedition. As for the la- 
bour, I think I have already said we will supply all that 
ourselves.” 

“ And you already possess a diving-dress, and know 
where you are going ? ” 

“ We have built an improved diving apparatus, and 
have also several other appliances calculated to help us 
in our work, and we know exactly where we are go- 
ing.” 

“ All right. I want to be the fifth partner in the ad- 
venture. Here is my cheque. Satisfy yourselves to- 
morrow that it is in order, and come and dine with me 
at my home, so that we may get to see each other’s 
faces. After that, perhaps, I will be taken into 
your confidence a little more, and I shall do all I can 
to be as useful a member of the expedition as any one. 
To whom shall I make the cheque payable?” 

“ There is really no special hurry about payment,” 
said Grenville ; “ we are not in absolute want of money 
just now. If you, after due consideration, think you 
would like to join us, we shall be very glad.” 

“ Then here is your cheque. Fill in any name you 
like. My name is Richard Preston; my father is dead, 
and I am joint owner with my uncle of the City Iron 
Works.” 

“ My name is Tom Grenville, and I am very glad 
to welcome you as our partner. Take off your masks, 
boys, and let me introduce you.” 

The three comrades removed their coverings and the 
new partner uttered a cry of surprise. 

“ Why, you are all boys,” he said. 


The Partners 


17 

“Time will remedy that fault,” laughed Thomson, 
shaking hands. “ Is that all you see, partner? ” 

“ I know you. I have seen you two before.” 

“ Naturally,” agreed Thomson ; “ Powell and I are 
apprentice engineers in your employment.” 

“ And this is Jack Davis, our chemist,” added Tom. 
“ So now that you know us all you can still decide as to 
whether you will join us or not.” 

“ Tear up that cheque,” cried Preston. Tom at once 
obeyed, and a look of disappointment crept into the 
faces of the others. 

“ I am indeed glad to be associated with such part- 
ners,” continued the new addition to their ranks. “ I have 
often heard our foreman engineer talking of the merits 
of you two, and I only regret that the works will suffer 
when you leave. Mr. Davis, I also think I have heard 
something of you.” 

“ Yes, I was mixed up in that explosion the other 
evening,” put in Jack, with a smile. “ My name went 
pretty nearly everywhere as the careless chemist who 
caused it.” 

“ Don’t you believe that,” cried Tom. “ Jack has 
already made several important discoveries.” 

“ Partners, you will, I am sure, allow me to say as 
one having a fifth interest to look after,” interrupted 
Preston, smiling an apology to Tom for breaking in 
on his remarks, “ that you have sadly underestimated 
the expenses of our trip. In our office I know we 
nearly always add fifty per cent, on calculated cost and 
take that figure as a base for any estimate, and I am sure 
we will find it so too.” 

“Then you do not mean to join us?” — the speaker 
was Grenville, and his voice was cold. 

(b 761) £? 


i8 


The Pearl Seekers 

“ I beg your pardon, partner, but I do, and I am 
going with you to one five eight ” 

The boys stared at the speaker in alarmed astonish- 
ment. 

“ — But I merely wished to make my cheque out for 
one thousand pounds, as I think that will be nearer our 
requirements.” 

“ But what did you mean by the words one five 
eight ? ” demanded Grenville. “ Have you heard ? ” 

“ I heard nothing from any of you fellows, here or 
elsewhere; but I happen to know of an island some- 
where on that meridian that is reported rich in pearl 
shell, and assumed that it was your island.” 

“ Oh ! Then others know of our island ? ” 

“No, I don’t think so. I will tell you later how I 
came to know. In fact, it is that knowledge that brought 
me here to-night. But can’t you come out with me and 
have supper at one of the hotels in town?” 

“We would much prefer that you would have supper 
with us. We are all good cooks, for we have been 
studying the art of cookery, so that we should not suffer 
too much on the island.” 

“ Then let me help. It is time I knew something 
about that too.” 

A loud ring startled them, and they looked at each 
other wonderingly. 

“ That will be another partner, I suppose,” said Tom, 
“ but they are a little bit too late. Go into the kitchen, 
you fellows, and prepare some supper while I interview 
him.” 

“ But you are not having any more partners, are 
you ? ” asked Preston anxiously. “ I can raise more 
money myself if it is required.” 


The Partners 


19 


“ Our syndicate is complete,” answered Tom, “ and 
not even the King of Britain could buy in now, al- 
though we might give him some shares,” he added mus- 
ingly. Stepping to the door as the others hurried away, 
he turned off a switch that he had put on for Preston’s 
benefit should he have proved other than what he was, 
and waited for the next peal. When it came he opened 
the door and beheld a tall figure. The rain was still 
pouring in torrents and the street lamps near had been 
blown out by the wind. 

“ I have called in reference to an advertisement in 
to-night’s Star ” the stranger said ; “ I presume I have 
come to the right place ? ” 

“ You have,” answered Tom ; “ but you are too late.” 

“ My dear boy — for I can see you are only a youth, — 
I was so interested that I came right away when I 
read the advertisement. I know it is late, but I feared 
that if I waited until to-morrow some one might be 
before me.” 

Tom was just about to tell the stranger that it was 
not the lateness of the hour he meant, when, acting on 
some impulse, he said, “ Well, if you will come in for a 
few minutes I will explain.” 

“ Thank you,” said the man, “ I will not detain you 
long, and I have brought my cheque-book with me.” 

“ There is no need for that,” said Tom, showing his 
visitor into the room just vacated by the four partners; 
“ I am very sorry, but we are not looking for a partner 
now.” 

“Ha, ha! -You know something, after all. Never 
mind, I rather like you to run up the value when a 
customer appears ; it is good business. But never mind, 
where is this island of yours ? ” 


20 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ You misunderstand me. We have withdrawn our 
advertisement.” 

“ Oh, have you ? My dear boy, please don’t trouble 
telling me fairy tales. I know all about that game. 
Just tell me where your island is — it is in the New 
Hebrides group, I think — and what your plans are, 
whether you have any special machinery, or if ” 

“ I beg your pardon, sir, but we made no mention 
of an island in the New Hebrides, nor of machinery.” 

“ Oh, then it is in the New Hebrides. Well, then, 
tell me all about it and I’ll give you my cheque for what 
you want.” 

“We do not wish your cheque, and you must excuse 
my not telling you anything about any island in the 
New Hebrides or elsewhere.” 

“ But what did you mean to do in the South Seas ? ” 
The speaker’s tone was changing. 

“ Gather cocoa-nuts, I think, or dig for copra.” 

“ Boy, you have no right to try to make a fool of 
me ; I have sailed the South Seas all my life. And allow 
me to remind you that you do not dig for copra; that 
is the dried extract of the cocoa-nut. Come now, no 
more of this nonsense; I feel greatly interested in your 
scheme, and am willing to buy into it.” 

“ And we are not willing to have you.” While 
speaking, Tom had thrown a newspaper over the chart, 
which still lay on the table, but the stranger saw the 
meaning of the movement. 

“ Ah, is that your chart ? ” he cried, reaching over ; 
“ now, I’ll soon know ” 

“Take your hands off that chart, sir, and sit down 
in your chair,” ordered Tom sternly. 

“ What, my young bantam ! ” cried the other, sitting 




TmDflhi 

b7(J1 


THOMSON THREW HIMSELF UPON THE MAN 



The Partners 21 

down again nevertheless, “ are you going to try the high 
hand with me ? ” 

“Will you kindly rise and walk out of this room?” 
said Tom coolly. 

“ Yes, but it will be to have a look at those patents 
of yours,” laughed the stranger. “ Oh, I know all about 
your work. I have watched the lights in this house 
often.” 

“ Then you refuse to leave ? ” 

“ When I am in possession of the knowledge I want 
I may. Why, you stupid fellow, there is no one within 
sound of your cries, and I am going to lock the door — 
What are you laughing at?” 

“ You, you third-class thief? ” roared Thomson burst- 
ing into the room and throwing himself upon the man. 
The other boys followed, and witnessed their comrade 
throw himself into grips with the stranger before the 
latter seemed to think of defending himself. 

“ Come back, David,” cried Tom, “ I’ve got him.” 

Thomson sprang back hastily, and the stranger sat 
up in his chair and then prepared to rise, a look in his 
eyes which showed diabolical intent. But he did not 
rise. Tom turned on a small harmless-looking switch 
and the intruder suddenly stiffened himself out and 
screamed. 

“ As you yourself told me,” said Tom immovably, 
“ no one can hear your cries, even if any one were about 
on a night like this, so you may save your breath.” 

“ What’s wrong with the man ? ” asked the new 
partner in surprise. “What is he yelling for?” 

“ Because he is in what we term our electrocution 
chair, and the current is on,” laughed Jack, “ and he 
can’t get out ! ” 


22 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ You young devils, turn that — thing off or I’ll mur- 
der you all ! ” roared the squirming victim ; “ I’ll break 
every machine you have got in the house, and tell the 
police I was trapped here.” 

“ The police will see for themselves about that,” re- 
turned Tom ; “ and for every oath you utter I will turn 
the handle round to another of these contacts.” 

“ Come and have supper now, partners,” called out 
Powell. “ Let the beggar alone. He can’t leave with- 
out our permission.” 

“ Well, I think there is little fear of our failing to 
do whatever we put our hands to,” laughed Preston. 
“ Who would have dreamt what risks I ran if I had 
given cheek.” 

“ We had you fixed quite another way,” said Tom. 
“ It’s only in absolute self-defence that we do this. Do 
any of you know this person? He seems to know some- 
thing of us ? ” 

“ I have seen him before several times,” answered 
Preston. “ He often visits my uncle at the works. 
Hullo! Look out, boys.” 

The stranger had suddenly become aware of a wire 
running under the edge of the table, and had gripped 
it in his teeth. It was the wire leading to the terminal 
copper upon which his feet rested. Next instant he 
had sent his teeth through it, and, before any one could 
stop him, he had sprung to his feet, grabbed at the table, 
and made for the door. 

“Throw the outer door into circuit!” shouted Tom. 
“ Come back, Preston. Don’t, boys ! Preston will get 
it too. Ah! he has escaped; perhaps it is just as well.” 
Jack had sprung to some switches just outside the door 
of the room, but he hesitated to throw them round when 


The Partners 


23 


he saw Preston running after their prisoner. Next mo- 
ment the outer door was opened, and their first enemy 
disappeared in the darkness of night. 

The five partners looked at each other. 

“ He’s best away,” said Thomson. “ But I am glad 
I got a punch at him.” 

“ I never thought the power of advertising was so 
great,” commented Jack reflectively. “ Just fancy two 
people in one night ready to put their money into some- 
thing they know nothing about.” 

“ Don’t run away with that idea,” laughed Preston, 
as they went back to the room. “ None of the two is 
so ignorant as you think, and I should not be surprised 
if we had more visitors now.” 

“By Jupiter! we’re getting famous, boys,” cried 
Powell. “ I can see the sunny south within our reach 
now. But we had better prepare for further visitors.” 

“ We won’t admit any more,” said Tom. Then ad- 
dressing Preston he said, “ You observe the electric cur- 
rent is laid on here.” 

“ They may not ask for admission,” said Preston. 
“ If you have any method of preventing people from 
coming in without your knowledge, let us use it at once.” 

“ Perhaps you are right. Set the trap, boys, and 
let us have some supper. I am hungry, and I am sure 
you must all be even more so than I am.” Tom 
touched Preston on the arm as he spoke, “ If it 
so happens that you rush after any other visitor 
to-night,” he said, “ do not step on those painted 
patches or you will not be able to leave them until 
the current is shut off. Those patches are films of 
copper foil, and are alternately connected, so that the 
circuit is completed when you have a foot on each.” 


24 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ But all the pressure of current in the city mains 
would not affect a man insulated with his boots 
on.” 

“ But we transform that current into many times 
its original voltage by means of that little machine 
you hear ticking in the next room. It is rather 
expensive to keep working, for it consumes current all 
the time, but Powell’s patent is better than a force of 
policemen.” 

“ We’ll have to hide our wires more carefully,” 
remarked Thomson, as he repaired the broken wire 
that led to the chair, and examined the foot-plate to 
see that it was all right. “ Hullo ! What’s wrong 
now ? ” 

Tom was staring at the table. “ Our chart is gone ! ” 
he cried. “ That man has stolen it ! ” 


CHAPTER II 


Unwelcome Visitors 

A long silence ensued, then Thomson laughed. 
“ What on earth does it matter about the loss of the 
chart ? ” he said. “ The island is not marked on it, and 
the thief could just as well have bought one for himself. 
No one but ourselves knows the position, and we need 
no marked chart to remind us of one five ” 

“ A moment, please,” put in the new partner ; “ I do 
not know the position of the island yet, but I would 
advise that we commit it to memory and thus 
obviate ” 

“ We’ve done that,” said Jack, “ it is our pass-word.” 

“The position of the island is longitude 158° 5' and 
latitude 4 0 2 ' 3",” explained Grenville, “ and when we 
expect each other here and do not know if it really is 
one of ourselves we repeat the figures in a meaningless 
manner between us before the door is opened.” Here 
Jack and David gave an example, and then Tom put 
Preston through the figures. 

“ That is very good,” the new partner agreed, as they 
adjourned to partake of what had been prepared for 
supper ; “ but seeing that we are watched now, and our 
expedition likely to become of greater interest to others 
than you at first allowed for, would you mind my 
suggesting that in future we take the precaution of 
reversing the figures.” 

“ Give an example,” said Tom. 

25 


2 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Well, let the first person who has to answer simply 
say five; then the other can answer eight five one, and 
start the other figures by saying three; the first person 
then can complete the reversed position by the words 
two four.” 

“ I think it a wise precaution,” agreed Thomson, 
helping himself to some cold ham, “ for we may be sure 
that, seeing something of our project has leaked out 
already, we shall be watched pretty closely when we 
begin our final preparations, which cannot be so easily 
hidden.” 

“ Let’s adopt the new system, then,” cried Powell, 
laying down his cup. “ It will be a hopeless jargon to 
any one who may overhear us, and will serve just as well 
to keep the figures in memory.” 

“ I vote for it too,” exclaimed Jack; and, seeing all 
were agreed on that point, Tom said, “ Well, boys, I 
declare the new system to be in force from now on, and 
no notice will be taken of any one who uses the old way 
of the figures.” 

“ Well, partners,” at length said Preston, “ it is now 
after ten o’clock; I must be going. I expect I’ll have 
to walk home too, for the last car will have gone by the 
time I get in to town.” 

“ But you haven’t seen our shell-raising plant yet,” 
cried Tom. “ Will any one be uneasy about your 
absence if you do not get home until early in the 
morning? ” 

“Oh dear, no. Uncle is a bit strict, but he’ll be 
asleep. Oh, I say, partners, you must come around and 
dine with us to-morrow evening. He’s a regular brick, 
but you’ll have to help me to explain why he’ll be 
losing two of his favourite engineers.” 


Unwelcome Visitors' 


27 


“ Then stay here to-night and see what we’ve got to 
show. David and James remain to work all night 
every Friday, and of course one of us must always be 
here now.” 

“ Th^n, hang it all, boys, I’ll stay. We may have 
trouble before morning, anyway.” 

“ Oh, I don’t think so,” laughed Tom, “ we are well 
defended. But if you are ready we’ll go into the next 
room, our workshop, and see the invention of our 
engineers.” 

“And I’ll get away home,” said Jack; “my people 
will be anxious, for I did not tell them I would be late. 
Jupiter! hear the rain beating against the windows. I 
hope there are no people watching the house. I feel of 
some importance now, knowing that people think it 
worth while to be interested in us.” 

“ I’ll go home with you,” said Powell ; “ some of 
those beggars may be outside, and may follow you. I 
can come back again.” 

“ Perhaps it would be just as well,” agreed Tom, 
thinking a moment and looking at Preston as if asking 
his opinion. 

“ I should certainly advise our leaving this place in 
twos after this,” the new partner said, to Jack’s 
secret delight, for, although by no means faint-hearted, 
he was very romantic, and his fancy had already 
pictured cloaked figures springing out on him from 
every dark recess. Powell put on his coat with Jack, 
and the two departed together, Thomson switching off 
the current to allow them to walk safely to the door, 
and turning it on again after they had departed. 

The remaining partners then followed Tom into what 
should have been the drawing-room of the house, but 


28 


The Pearl Seekers 


had been converted into a workshop. The windows 
were screened very carefully and securely by shutters 
which were barred in an unique manner that would tax 
the ingenuity of the most expert housebreaker to break 
through. 

Tom switched on the light, and there were revealed 
several strange-looking objects in various parts of the 
room, but the apartment generally showed that all work 
on them had now been completed, for there were but 
few signs about common to a workshop. 

“ This is our improved diver/’ said Tom, pausing in 
front of a large tube-like structure about seven feet in 
height. “ It’s the joint invention of Thomson, Powell, 
and Davis, and has one or two features not found in 
any other form of diving apparatus.” 

Richard Preston gazed at the strange object. It was 
about three feet in diameter, with a slightly broader 
base. All round it were what looked like lenses, and 
here and there were peculiarly-shaped flexible arms sus- 
pending loosely by the side of the great central tube 
which formed the body. Coils of copper wire and rub- 
ber piping lay about it, and there were brass joints in 
the structure where they evidently fitted on. An air- 
pump of somewhat odd construction lay beside the con- 
trivance, and a large boiler-like affair also stood 
near. 

“May I ask a few questions?” ventured the new 
partner, after he had taken in all that the eye could see. 

“ Certainly ; you are one of us now, and must know 
everything, so as to be able to assist in the working of 
the diver,” replied Tom, while Thomson busied him- 
self screwing up some joints which his trained eye had 
noticed required attention. 


Unwelcome Visitors 


29 


“ Then how do you keep this tube — I mean the 
diver — in a vertical position, for I presume a man must 
go down inside somehow ? ” 

“ The bottom of the casing is filled with mercury 
sufficient to keep the weight of the diver and its occu- 
pant in a perpendicular position at any depth/’ replied 
Tom. “ Try and push it over.” 

Richard put his shoulder against the affair, but it 
resisted his effort of strength and did not move. “ Try 
now,” said Thomson, opening a valve somewhere near 
the bottom and causing a semi-liquid mass of silvery 
white material to run out into a receptacle placed to 
catch it. 

Again Richard exerted his strength, and this time 
the wonderful diver toppled over into the arms of 
Thomson, who with a laugh lifted it easily and carried 
it across the room. “ It is built of a patent aluminium 
bronze,” he said, by way of explanation, “ which is 
stronger than steel, and only a fraction of the weight.” 

“ But, boys, you have a fortune in that alloy alone. 
My uncle would pay anything to get it.” 

“ Perhaps,” said Tom grimly, and Thomson laughed ; 
“ but our experience of selling inventions has not jus- 
tified us in trying to raise money by placing this dis- 
covery before any ironmaster. Besides, we require 
all our inventions ourselves to carry out our pearling 
idea.” 

“And I actually get a fifth share in everything and 
have all the fun and excitement for a paltry thousand 
pounds,” said Richard reflectively. 

Then an idea seemed to strike him, and he added, 
“ Never mind, boys, we’ll carry our pearling expedition 
through, no matter what it costs, I think I can make 


30 


The Pearl Seekers 


my uncle give me any money I want; but — have you 
tested the deep sea behaviour of this affair? How do 
you know that it will work at any depth under 
water? ” 

“ It will work up to at least twenty fathoms/’ said 
Tom quietly; “but it has never left this room since it 
was built.” 

“ Then how do you know ? ” 

“ Because all last night I was inside it, and it was 
inside that boiler over there. Jack pumped water into 
it until the pressure was more than equal to that of 
the hundred and twenty feet level, and I experienced 
no difficulty in breathing under the necessarily increased 
air pressure, which Jack also pumped through a hun- 
dred and twenty feet of rubber tubing likewise subjected 
to the same external pressure. We spoke to each other 
all the time, too, through our telephone, which is an- 
other little invention.” 

“ Dear me, this is marvellous, boys, and to think 
that two such engineers worked as apprentices in my 
own works.” 

“ And these are arms controlled from the inside,” 
continued Tom, indicating the hanging appendages; 
“ they are worked by the diver himself, and can gather 
up anything within their reach easily. When the diver 
wishes to move farther, he simply tells us through the 
telephone and we pull him along.” 

The sound of a rapidly-driven cab approaching made 
him stop, for cabs were unusual in their quiet suburb 
at that time of night. 

“ It has stopped,” cried Thomson ; “ it will be more 
answers to our advertisement.” 

“ No, I think the wind is blowing the sound away,” 


Unwelcome Visitors 31 

said Tom; “I have often noticed that when alone here 
at night.” 

“ Well, partners, it is all very wonderful, these in- 
ventions of yours and your scheme. By the way, how 
do you know that there is such an island as you hope 
to find ? ” 

“ My father, who was a sea captain, told me,” an- 
swered Tom. “ He went away in command of a new 
steam yacht some years ago, and has not been heard 
from directly since. A year after he sailed a letter 
came to me from him which had been thrown into the 
sea in a bottle, and the letter told me of this island and 
its treasures.” 

The door bell ringing loudly again interrupted him, 
and the three boys started violently. There was some- 
thing uncanny in people coming to the door after mid- 
night. 

“ It will be Powell,” said Thomson, rousing himself ; 
“ I’ll let him in.” 

“ Remember the new version of the signals, then,” 
called out Tom, as his comrade went to the door. 

Tom and Richard listened. Somehow they felt that 
things were not altogether right, and they heard David 
give the peculiar knocks on the inside of the door be- 
fore opening it, and also heard the answering signal 
given correctly. 

“ Hullo ! ” Thomson then cried. “ You haven’t been 
long. Give me the word first for a change.” 

“ One five eight,” came the response, almost 
drowned by the roar of the wind. 

“Oh, is it?” cried the interrogator. “Then I am 
afraid you will have to remain outside until you can re- 
member differently.” 


3 2 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Come away, David,” called Tom ; “ if he has for- 
gotten already we had better give him a lesson.” 
Thomson rejoined his comrades, and they listened for 
the next summons to the door. But none came, and 
concluding that Powell had gone home in the sulks, 
they went on showing their new partner the wonders 
of the room until another hour had passed. Then there 
was another ring of the bell. 

“ What is it this time ? ” groaned Thomson. “ I 
never knew the power of the press was anything like this 
before. Just fancy what a half-crown advert, has done. 
It is a good thing, Tom, you didn’t put in five shillings’ 
worth or we should have a crowd outside.” Another 
loud peal interrupted him, and he hurried to the door. 
He was just about to open it when something prompted 
him to give the two knocks always signalled when the 
visitors might be one of themselves, and, to his surprise, 
it was answered. 

“ The word,” he cried ; “ this is a committee meeting 
and you can’t come in here at one o’clock in the morn- 
ing without giving the pass-words.” 

“ Shut up, then, and listen to them,” answered the 
person outside. “ How does five suit you ? Can you 
continue that ? ” 

“ Yes, eight five one — you proceed now after this — 
three ” 

“Two four, and hurry up; it’s cold out here.” 

Thomson opened the door, and admitted Powell. 
“ So you remembered them at last ? ” he said as he 
closed the door again and switched on the current. 
“We thought you had gone home in the sulks.” 

“ What are you talking about, Thomson ? You 
know I went home with Jack. He’s a bit unstrung to- 


Unwelcome Visitors 


33 


night, and I can hardly blame him, for there was a man 
following us all the way into the town. . I left Jack 
there and came back, running all the way, for I imagined 
I saw men in every doorway. No more advertising for 
me, David.” 

“But weren’t you here about an hour ago?” asked 
Richard in surprise. 

“ No, certainly not. Why, what are all you fellows 
frightened about ? What has happened ? ” 

“It is nothing,” said Tom; “only we must be ex- 
tremely careful now, and one of you must always be 
here with me for fear of accidents. Go to sleep, you 
fellows; you’ll find the rugs before the fire in the bed- 
room upstairs, and remember you’ve got to turn out to 
your work in about five hours. It is the last time you 
will have to do so, however, for we shall all be needed 
here after this to hasten preparations for our depar- 
ture.” 

“ If there is anything else you would like made, tell 
us,” said Richard. “ All our works are at our disposal 
for the making of anything special; and we need tell 
no one, seeing we can do everything ourselves.” 

“ Thank you,” said Tom, “ but everything in that 
line is finished. We merely have to pack up now and 
find out the times of the most suitable steamers.” 

“ The China leaves next Friday,” said Powell. 
“ She is a good boat.” 

“ Can you all be ready by that time ? ” asked Tom. 
He knew his friends could, and his question was mostly 
directed towards Richard. 

“ Certainly,” replied that individual ; “ but we must 
have an evening with my uncle first. He will give us 
any help we may require, and — Hullo ! more visitors ? ” 
(b 761) D 


34 


The Pearl Seekers 


Again the bell resounded through the house, and 
again the partners looked at each other in amazement; 
it was after two in the morning. 

“ Who are you, and what do you want? ” cried Tom, 
as they all went to the door, picking their steps care- 
fully. 

“ Let me in,” cried a voice, as if out of breath from 
running. “ Five.” 

“ It is Jack,” cried Powell. “ Something has hap- 
pened. Open at once.” 

“ Eight five one,” responded Tom, ignoring the agi- 
tation of the others. “ By three.” 

“ Two four,” came the answer, and Tom at once 
threw open the door. Next moment something was 
thrust between the door and the wall to prevent its 
closing, and a man burst in. “ We’ve caught you this 
time,” he cried, with an evil laugh, and at the same in- 
stant a sound of glass being broken came from the 
drawing-room. 

“ Run, Thomson ! ” cried Grenville. “ Some one is 
breaking in by the window.” But Preston had already 
skipped over the heavily-charged floorway, and Thom- 
son had jumped upon the person who had entered by the 
door. He was a strong man, however, and without any 
apparent effort he threw the boy the full length of the 
hall and then turned to Tom, who meanwhile had cast 
out the obstacle in the doorway and closed the door. 
Tom kept his nerve. “Well, what do you want?” he 
said. “ I have not the honour of your acquaintance.” 

“ No, I suppose not,” the intruder answered ; “ but 
I and my friends are here to see what you have in 
this house, and as I suppose we’ll have to chain you 


Unwelcome Visitors 


35 


all up before we can do that, well — here goes ! ” He 
leaped at Tom as he spoke, but his intended victim 
sprang aside and retreated down the hall. The man 
rushed after him, but had only taken two steps when 
he uttered a yell and stood transfixed, his eyes starting 
from his head and his body twisting in weird contor- 
tions. 

“ You are safe in the meantime,” remarked Tom, 
and with Thomson ran into the other room. Here they 
found Richard sitting upon the prostrate form of an- 
other man, a revolver in his hand, with the influence of 
which he evidently kept the prisoner still. A huge 
hole in both window and shutter showed how he had 
entered. 

“ Have you got the other ? ” asked Richard, looking 
up. “ This fellow fell through the window right into 
my arms. He’s been working at the outside for some 
hours, I take it.” 

“ Let us up, guvners, an’ I’ll blow the whole show,” 
entreated the prisoner, who appeared to be a ruffian of 
the lower classes. “ I’m only a pore hard-working man, 
an’ I am only the small fry in this game.” 

“Indeed!” said Tom. “Whom are you working 
for?” . 

A cunning look came into the man’s eyes, and he 
appeared to hear for the first time the oaths of his para- 
lysed companion in the hall. 

“ That would be tellin’,” he leered. “ Wot will I 


“As much as the law can give you,” broke in Pres- 
ton. “ I know you ; at least, I have seen you before, 
and ” 


3 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Tell us who employed you to break in here,” inter- 
rupted Tom, “ and if you tell the truth we may let 
you go.” 

“ It was a big, tall man with a black beard, an’ — 
an’ a ring on his finger with a blue stone ” 

“ Nonsense,” interrupted Thomson. “ You needn’t 
lie to us. Who is the person ? What is his name ? ” 

“ Just climb through that hole in the shutter and 
blow this whistle,” said Preston, handing Tom a police- 
man’s whistle, “ and we’ll get rid of them in no time.” 

“ For the Lord’s sake, don’t, an’ I’ll tell everything,” 
cried the man, starting up until the muzzle of Preston’s 
revolver touched his forehead. 

“ Proceed, then,” ordered Tom, halting. 

“ It was the fellow you’ve got that’s swearing so 
horrible now. He planned it all himself. Says he to 
me, 4 Jim,’ says he, ‘ there’s something good in a house 
down in Rosedale.’ ” 

“ You are lying again,” said Richard; “blow the 
whistle, Tom.” 

Without a word Tom climbed out, and the sound 
of his whistle awakened the echoes of the silent streets. 
The storm had now spent itself, and the night, or 
rather morning, was very quiet. In less than a minute 
a policeman appeared, and was soon made acquainted 
with everything. He did not seem to be surprised in 
the slightest, until he saw that it was boys who had 
summoned him, then he gave vent to an exclamation : 
“ But you don’t mean to tell me that you kids collared 
this customer yourselves ? ” he cried. “ He’s one of 
the cutest in his trade. My mate and I have been 
watching him and his mate all night, but they’ve been 
watching us too, it seems. Now, if we only could catch 


Unwelcome Visitors 37 

Slippery Charlie, that’s his confederate, inside some 
house where he shouldn’t be ” 

“ He’s in the hall now,” said Tom. “ Come here 
and see if this is the man.” 

The policeman followed Tom in silent amazement, 
and at once recognised the other as the person he had 
named. “ This will put you up comfortably for the 
Christmas holidays, Charlie,” the officer laughed. “ I 
wonder at you being trapped by schoolboys.” 

“ I’ll get even with them for this,” roared the pris- 
oner. “ Turn that confounded thing off. I’m about 
dead now.” 

“ Take care,” warned Tom, as the policeman stepped ‘ 
forward to see what was keeping the prisoner from 
making some effort to escape. Tom’s warning came too 
late, and the law’s representative found out all about 
it, and squirmed and howled until Tom switched the 
current off. The moment he felt relief the prisoner 
rushed to the door, but Thomson tripped him up, and 
next moment the policeman had his wrists securely 
handcuffed. Blowing his whistle for more assistance, 
he kept his eye on his men until it arrived in the shape 
of two policemen from neighbouring beats, then he 
marched the prisoners away. 

“ You’ll hear from me later,” snarled the one who 
was known as Slippery Charlie. 

“ Oh, doubtless,” responded Tom, yawning. “ We’ll 
give you a warm welcome if you come in person.” 

“ No threats, Charlie,” cautioned one of the officers, 
gazing admiringly at the boys. “ It will just mean a 
longer holiday, you know.” 

“ As for you, young Preston,” roared the other pris- 
oner, “ you were mighty curious to know who sent me 


38 


The Pearl Seekers 


here. Well, I’ll tell you, an’ I hope you and your pals 
will like it. It was your uncle.” 

The partners were again left to themselves ; but 
they said nothing. The accusation was overwhelming, 
and Richard was stunned for the time. Suddenly 
Thomson broke out in a laugh. 

“What’s the matter?” inquired Powell. “Where is 
the joke?” The others also looked reproachfully at 
their comrade, but he only glanced round on their melan- 
choly visages and laughed again. 

“ Surely you don’t mean to say you believe what 
that man said ! he cried at length. “ Can’t you see 
that that was meant as a kind of revenge. He evi- 
dently knew Richard here, and calculated that what he 
said would give him a bad time.” 

“ I only wish I were quite sure of that,” said Pres- 
ton thoughtfully. “ But — well, never mind ; we’ve won, 
and as we’ll be leaving this country next Friday we can 
take care of ourselves till then, and sleep here beside 
our property all the time if need be.” 

“ Let us think no more of what the man said,” spoke 
Tom. “ He is a liar, I am sure. To-morrow I will 
book our passages. At the beginning of the week we’ll 
pack everything, and by Thursday we can have said 
good-bye to any friends we happen to have, and catch 
the night train for London.” 

“ I wish we could get away earlier,” said Richard. 
“ The whole town will ring with this night’s work, and 
the newspaper people will spread the story everywhere.” 

“ Then let us throw the things as they are into a 
cart when daylight comes, and remove them somewhere 
else,” suggested Thomson. “We can then be quite open 
with the police and others, and tell them we were 


Unwelcome Visitors 


39 


merely holding a meeting when these people broke in ; 
and there will be nothing to show that there was any- 
thing extraordinary about the meeting, and I am sure 
the prisoners won’t tell.” 

This suggestion was agreed to, and two hours aft- 
erwards, just as day dawned, they roused a carter from 
his slumbers and removed everything. 


CHAPTER III 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 

The P. & 0. Liner China glided swiftly down the 
Thames, carrying on board an army of wealthy and 
delicate Britons who did not care to suffer the cold of 
approaching winter. On board also were the five part- 
ners, filled with enthusiasm and hope as they realised 
that they had actually started to cross the globe to that 
little speck amidst the waters which loomed so large in 
their eyes. When they left the river and entered the 
more unruly waters of the Channel, however, a good 
deal of the enthusiasm died away; for they were all 
landsmen, and, excepting Richard, who proved to be a 
very good sailor indeed, had never been to sea before. 
But after the Bay of Biscay had been left behind and 
the dim hills of the Portuguese coast appeared on their 
port side, they began to take a fresh interest in every- 
thing and were greatly charmed with the novelty of 
their surroundings. Gibraltar was soon reached; then 
after a smart run up to Marseilles, where the over- 
land passengers came on board, the China headed for 
Port Said through the classical waters of the Mediter- 
ranean. Port Said, the half-way stopping-place be- 
tween East and West, offered much amusement to the 
boys with its bands of beggars, its bazaars, and its coal 
lumpers, and then the famous Suez Canal took up their 
attention. The Red Sea was navigated in record time, 
40 


The Raising of the c Cinderella’ 41 

and an old world wanderer among the passengers 
pointed out to them where lay the future Red Sea port, 
Port Sudan. Aden was the first port that offered any 
attraction to them, for of course, although the whole 
voyage was new to them and highly interesting, they 
had read all about the various settlements so often that 
they almost felt like old travellers. Knowing, too, that 
they were bound on a mission that would furnish many 
surprises and adventures, even to experienced travellers, 
before they were finished, they had schooled themselves 
so as not to be surprised at anything, and, as a result, 
the seasoned voyagers who prided themselves on their 
knowledge, and generally had a crowd of listeners 
around them, thought the five mysterious young men 
very lacking in the spirit of enthusiasm. No one knew 
what their mission was, but many tales were current on 
the ship as to what the five inseparable comrades were 
to do. Some said they were all going out to get ex- 
perience in sheep-farming in Australia; others that they 
were clerks in the employment of a big soap firm about 
to open up a business in Melbourne ; and a few gave it 
out that the five were bound for the Fiji Islands to 
start sugar-cane growing, and added that they had 
originally intended to try that industry in North Queens- 
land, but the new labour laws had made that impossible. 
The last people nearly always, after giving their ideas, 
broke into a fierce tirade against the — according to 
them — bad and unfair laws of Australia, and then went 
off at a tangent from the subject they had begun to 
talk about; and the five partners smiled at each other 
and kept their own affairs secret. 

At Aden, however, they were greatly interested in 
the diving boys, who for a silver coin would dive from 


42 


The Pearl Seekers 


the ship’s rail, and sometimes even pass under the keel 
and come up on the other side. Of course, a quarter- 
master chased them overboard into the sea whenever 
he saw any of them on deck, but they only laughed and 
came back again when they thought he had departed, 
or swam round the steamer entreating the passengers to 
throw a coin into the water. 

“ It seems to me,” said Tom, as they watched them, 
“ that these fellows could make a fortune diving for 
pearls.” 

“ Not so easily as it looks,” answered Richard ; “ you 
see the sharks would have a voice in the matter.” 

“ But there, are dozens of sharks out there. Look, 
there is an ugly black fin now ! ” 

“ Yes, and see how the divers are getting out of the 
way and climbing into their boats. Now, the sharks 
are bad here without doubt; but where pearl shells are 
they are much worse; they feed on the oysters, you 
know.” 

“ Dear me, you seem to know everything,” said Tom. 

“ Oh, I’ve travelled a bit before, and well — I’ve seen 
the pearlers at Broome, in Western Australia, and have 
also gone out in a pearling lugger at Thursday Island, 
in Torres Strait — But hullo! There goes the engine 
telegraph. We’re off again.” 

Several times during the run to Colombo the part- 
ners were surprised at the knowledge of their fifth 
partner. He seemed to know everything when pressed 
or asked for information, but at other times he ap- 
peared to be one of the greenest new chums on board. 
At Colombo they- witnessed more diving, and in the shops 
saw some very fine pearls from the pearling grounds 
around the island; but they resisted the wiles of the 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 43 

crowds of gem merchants who were continually re- 
questing them to buy diamonds, rubies, and other stones 
supposed to be of almost priceless value, but which the 
dealers assured them in quaint language they would sell 
to them for a few rupees. A nine days’ run after leav- 
ing Colombo brought them to Fremantle, the port for 
Perth and the West Australian goldfields. Adelaide 
was reached four days later, then Melbourne, and 
finally Sydney, the queen city of the South. And the 
dream of their lives was in part accomplished, they 
were now within two thousand miles of their mysteri- 
ous island. 

Here Richard’s experience proved of very great 
value, and instead of the worry which the partners had 
been expecting to have with Customs, and baggage 
agents, they found themselves seated at lunch in the 
Hotel Metropole within an hour of their landing, Rich- 
ard having arranged the transferring of their cases, and 
all Customs details, in a few minutes’ conversation with 
some one whom he seemed to know. 

The boys were enraptured with Sydney. Instead of 
the sleepy Colonial town they had expected to find, here 
was an up-to-date city, with electric cars flying about 
in all directions, and buildings superior to those of 
Worchester. The magnificent harbour, too, was a 
source of keen delight to them, and on the first night 
of their arrival, as they sat on the upper deck of the 
North Shore ferry and watched the brilliant effects of 
the many moving harbour lights, they thought they had 
reached an enchanted land. Next morning they ex- 
amined their cases and found everything all right, and 
then began to prepare for the last part of their jour- 
ney. 


44 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Well, boys,” said Grenville, as they formed them- 
selves into a meeting in a corner of the large smoking- 
room of the hotel, “ let us formulate our plans at once 
and get ahead, for every day here means expense, and 
leaves us with less money to spend on whaj is essen- 
tial.” 

“ Fire away,” said Thomson, laying down the paper 
he had been reading, but keeping his hand on it. 

“ We’ll carry out your plans whatever they are,” 
added Preston. 

“ Well, we must procure a vessel of some kind now, 
which we can navigate ourselves, get our gear and 
stores on board, and set out for our destination. We 
will keep inside the Great Barrier Reef, and by the 
time we are off Cooktown, in Queensland, where the 
only practicable passage to the open sea is, we’ll have 
gained enough experience to handle our craft outside, 
and in any case the distance from there is only about 
nine hundred miles. We know the power of advertis- 
ing, so I propose we insert a carefully worded adver- 
tisement, in the Morning Herald and the Telegraph. 
Any amendment to that, partners? ” Tom looked round 
on his comrades. 

“ None from me,” said every one in turn except 
Thomson: he was a young man who had great self-re- 
liant powers and thought for himself, and it often re- 
quired all Tom’s tact to keep matters smooth between 
himself and his assertive comrade. 

“ I would like to read an article in this morning’s 
paper to you before we do anything,” Thomson said. 
“If that proves of no interest to us in the opinion of 
you all, then, of course, Tom’s idea can be put into force 
at once.” 


The Raising of the c Cinderella’ 45 

“ Go on, then,” said Grenville, sitting down ; “ but 
speak low ; two men have come to a table in the corner 
behind you.” 

“ Listen, then,” continued Thomson, taking up his 
paper and reading: “ ‘ We understand that the steam 
yacht Cinderella , which sank last week off Naarabeen 
rocks, will be put up to-day for public auction by Messrs. 
Gordon and Co., Pitt Street. We do not think the 
purchasers will make much of their deal, as, although 
a new vessel with remarkably high engine power, she 
lies, it is reported, between two rocks at a depth inac- 
cessible to divers.’ ” He laid down the paper and 
looked around inquiringly. 

“Well?” said Davis. “What has that got to do 
with us? ” 

“ She’ll be sold for very little,” said Thomson, “ and 
we might buy her.” 

“ What is her size ? ” asked Powell thoughtfully. 

“ I inquired half an hour ago, and learned that she 
is a craft of about two hundred tons.” 

“ I see what you mean, David,” said Grenville with 
a smile, “ but I fear you overestimate our powers.” 

“ No, I don’t. I looked up last week’s paper in the 
writing-room this morning and I find that the water 
she lies in is not more than sixteen fathoms.” 

“ Hush,” warned Richard ; “ these people behind are 
listening.” 

The partners at once became silent, and busied them- 
selves with newspapers, and then became listeners them- 
selves, for after a pause one of the two men at the table 
behind laughed and said to his companion, “ They are 
only boys. Go on with your story. When we met last, 
in Hong-Kong I think it was, you were in command of 


46 The Pearl Seekers 

the B. & D. Company’s old barge The Eastern Star.” 

“ Yes, but the Company sold her to B. P. & Co., and 
they didn’t require my services,” the other said with a 
laugh that had a touch of bitterness in it. 

“ What have you been doing since ? ” 

“ Scraping mud off some of the banks in the Pacific 
on a trader. By Jupiter! if I could get hold of a craft 
myself, I know a scheme that would pay. But you 
seem to have rubbed along all right; the last time we 
met you were a supercargo or something on a cattle 
boat, and knew as much about navigation as I knew 
about farming.” 

“True, Bob,” laughed the other; “but you s£e my 
old man has become a director of- the Pacific Trading 
Line since then, and what is the use of having a di- 
rector for a father if he can’t give his son a com- 
mand? ” 

“ You were always lucky, Sam,” commented Bob. 
“ I don’t suppose you could lend me your old man for a 
time? ” 

“ Well, no, Bob. He is of great use to me, and I 
couldn’t part with him; but I’ll put you up to some- 
thing. You said you could do great things with a craft 
of your own. Well, buy the Cinderella to-day — you 
heard what these kids were reading? I know from old 
Roderick the diver that she is not between the rocks 
at all, but in the Naarabeen sandbank; in fact, I got a 
wireless message that her sea-cocks were opened before 
she went down, anl in my humble opinion there was 
some crook work about the business.” 

“ I’ll buy her and risk raising her. Can you stand 
by me if the price goes above a five-pound note ? ” 

“ Certainly, old fellow. I can raise a hundred in 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 47 

ten minutes, and my wonderful old map will back me 
as far as I like to go. But come on, the sale is at 
eleven and it only wants ten minutes from that time 
now.” 

The two men rose and departed, and the partners 
looked after them. The men were both young, and 
had pleasant but bronzed faces ; they walked with a gait 
that proclaimed them to be seamen. 

“ Come along, boys,” cried Tom. “ It seems, after 
all, that the sale of the Cinderella will have some inter- 
est for us. It is a pity that we’ll have to bid against 
that young fellow who wants her, for I rather like his 
face; but business is business, and if she is not jammed 
between the rocks I think we want her too.” 

“ But she will be too big for us to handle,” objected 
Jack, as they walked out. 

“ No, she won’t,” returned Thomson, happy that his 
idea had suddenly developed in importance. “ Powell 
and I will be engineers and firemen combined, and we 
can raise her with our improved diver as easily as if we 
had her on the end of a crane.” 

Richard did not speak, he appeared to be thinking 
deeply, and the boys walked towards the auction room. 
They reached it as the item preceding the yacht was 
being sold. It was a desirable villa residence in one of 
the suburbs and was knocked down for two thousand 
pounds. 

“Whew!” gasped Jack. “If prices are like that 
we’ll have to wait till the water freezes and walk to 
our island.” 

“ Shut up,” growled Thomson, “ here’s the Cinder - 

ellar 

“ Now, gentlemen,” cried the auctioneer, “ I have to 


48 


The Pearl Seekers 


dispose of that splendid steam yacht many of you have 
doubtless admired in the harbour recently. I refer to 
the Cinderella. How much am I offered for a start ? ” 
He evidently did not think much of the importance of 
the item. 

“ I’ll risk a fiver,” shouted some one from the far 
end of the place. 

“ Put me down for ten,” cried a man with a pro- 
nounced Hebraic expression. 

“ Fifteen,” said a person standing beside Tom, and 
looking up he recognized the man who had expressed 
his desire to get the ship, in the hotel. 

“Twenty!” shouted Thomson, in answer to Tom’s 
signal, and people looked around to see who the fool 
was. The auctioneer seemed surprised. He had not 
expected any competition. Remembering his duty, 
however, he cried, “ What ! Is twenty pounds all I am 
offered for that splendid gem of the shipbuilder’s art? 
Don’t be foolish, gentlemen. Remember I have my 
commission to make. Come now, twenty pounds for 
the magnificent Cinderella. She’s worth as many 
thousands.” 

“ If she were floating,” interjected some one, and the 
crowd laughed. A Sydney crowd is always ready to 
be amused. 

“ Shelp me gracious ! I will risk twenty-three,” 
cried the Jew, looking round at the bidders behind as if 
they were robbing him. 

“ You can have it for me, Moses,” shouted the man 
who had made the first offer. “ I’m not having any 
submarine residences yet.” 

“ Thirty,” interrupted the sailor beside Tom, and the 
auctioneer almost fell from his perch in astonishment, 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 49 

and a man in the surprised crowd roared : “ He’s open- 
ing a home for mermaids.” 

“ Come on, gentlemen,” cried the auctioneer. 
“ Think of the fortune the P. & O. Australia made to 
the man who bought her when she lay on the rocks at 
Port Phillip Heads. Thirty pounds wouldn’t pay for 
the carpets on the floors of the Cinderella s cabins.” 

“ Thirty-three ! ” shrieked the Jew. “ Mine Gott ! 
Vil any man rob me more ? ” 

“ I will, Abraham,” cried the bidder who had offered 
thirty. “ I’ll go without my dinner to beat you, and 
raise it another five shillings.” 

“ Ten shillings more,” howled the other, and the 
crowd shouted their approval in words not altogether 
complimentary. 

“ Forty pounds,” sang out Thomson, receiving 
Tom’s signal again. 

“ Forty pounds. Forty pounds,” repeated the auc- 
tioneer, looking half-sorrowfully at the bidder. “ She’s 
a hundred odd feet under water, you know,” he said, as 
if wishing Thomson would withdraw his bid. 

“ Say, young fellows, are you thundering fools ? ” 
spoke the sailor bidder to Tom and his deputy. “ Do 
you think you can go and picnic on the Cinderella's 
decks? ” 

“ Yes, after we raise her,” said Tom. “ Are you 
going to bid more ? ” 

“ Great snakes ! When you raise her. Do you 
mean to try that ? ” 

“ Forty pounds. Forty pounds. Going at forty 
pounds,” bellowed the auctioneer. “ The beautiful 
Clyde-built submarine Cinderella going at forty pouncls.” 

“ Say, young shentlemen, you haf no right to rob 

(b 761) E 


The Pearl Seekers 


me. I will gif you ten pounds if you will not bid again, 
and I will take her,” spoke the Jewish gentleman, push- 
ing his way towards the partners. 

“ Kick him, boys,” said the sailor. “ Do you really 
want this craft? Quick. I’ll go a sovereign more for 
her if you want to get clear.” 

“ We mean to have the vessel, sir,” said Tom. 

“ Then gif me ten pound or I will raise her price 
again,” cried the Jew. 

“ Don’t, boys,” advised the other. “ If he raises the 
price, leave it to him. No, I’ll not bid any more against 
you, seeing you are fresh new chums.” 

“ Going ! Going ! Gone ! ” shouted the auctioneer, 
and the Cinderella belonged to the partners. 

“It was a schwindle!” shrieked the Jew. “I vas 
going to bid more. Here, I will gif you twenty pounds 
on your deal,” he said, turning to Tom, who was mak- 
ing his way forward to sign the necessary documents. 

“ Clear out, Moses, or you’ll get into trouble,” or- 
dered the sailor. “ If you pester these boys, I’ll shake 
you out of your miserable skin.” 

“ Oh, we are not afraid of him,” said Thomson. 
“ We’re a pretty rough lot to handle ourselves.” He 
made a threatening movement as he spoke, and the 
Jew departed hurriedly. Then the partners retraced 
their steps to the hotel, feeling very important indeed, 
for were they not the owners of a steam yacht? The 
fact that she lay at the bottom of the sea was a mere 
detail to them. 

“ We’ll see about hiring a tug and some chains and 
have a look at where our yacht lies without delay,” said 
Thomson at lunch. “ I expect Powell and I will have 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 51 

our hands full during the next little while raising her 
and making all repairs.” 

“ Do you mean you will try to get her up your- 
selves ? ” asked Richard, in amusement. “ Why, that is 
a contract for an army of divers and several powerful 
tugs and scores of men.” 

“ Not with us,” said Powell proudly. “ Thomson 
and I have ideas of our own about these matters, and I 
fancy we can raise the Cinderella as well as any salvage 
contractor in or out of Australia — Hullo! here is a re- 
porter. I know him by his ferrety eyes.” 

“ May I ask if you are the gentlemen who bought 
the wreck of the Cinderella this forenoon ? ” the person 
whom Powell had indicated inquired. 

“ We are,” said Grenville, “ but we prefer not to 
give our reasons.” 

“ But you will surely let me have something to say. 
What do you mean to do with her ? ” 

“ Oh, it was just the excitement of the sale. We 
wished to be able to say we owned a steam yacht,” said 
Richard, “ and the feeling is well worth the price paid.” 

“ But you cannot even break her up. She won’t 
even sell as old iron.” 

“We are not going to break her up; and look here 
— to put it plainly — how much will you take to leave 
us alone and keep all other press papers from pestering 
us?” 

“ I beg your pardon, I am not a blackmailer. If you 
do not choose to give me any information, I can find 
out by other methods.” 

“ Come away, Jim, and leave the budding fleet-own- 
ers alone,” interrupted a voice, and the boys saw their 


52 The Pearl Seekers 

sailor friend of the morning seated at a table near them. 

“ Hullo, Bob ! Where did you drop from ? ” cried 
the pressman, looking round. “ Just wait a moment 
and I’ll be with you. I’ve been insulted.” 

“ It was unintentionally then,” said Tom. “ We 
understood that it was the regular thing in Australia 
to buy the silence of the Press.” 

“ Shade of Pitman ! Do you hear that, Bob ! ” 
The pressman appeared to be about to have a fit. 

“Well, isn’t it true?” inquired his friend. “And, 
even allowing the youngsters have made a mistake, 
why make yourself a nuisance to them? They want 
to be left to mind their own business. They bought 
that wreck over my head to-day.” 

“ Will you gentlemen dine with us ? ” said the tact- 
ful Tom suddenly, seized with an inspiration. “ We 
are strangers here, and do not know how things are 
worked in Sydney. We will tell you all we can of our 
ideas, but we had thought it was the usual thing to pay 
for non-interference.” 

“ Howling dingoes ! Hear him ! ” exclaimed the 
pressman. “ He’s rubbing it in still.” 

“ Well, never mind. They are all new chums, can’t 
you see? and anyhow the dressing will do you good. 
Great Southern Cross! man, it is not often you meet 
original people. Look at the copy you can make.” 

The pressman burst out laughing. The humour of 
the idea that the Press was a -blackmailing institution 
had suddenly struck him. Most people would have 
paid any money for the sake of the advertisement of an 
interview. 

“Will you join us, gentlemen?” said Richard. “I 
am very sorry.” 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 53 

Don’t worry, boy,” laughed the pressman good- 
naturedly. “ Perhaps you were not so very far wrong 
after all. Certainly, I will join you. I like to meet 
people from the old country.” 

“ And you can bet your new steam yacht I will too,” 
cried the sailor, coming forward ; “ and if you need any 
friends in this place just count on me, and you don’t 
need to say a word about yourselves.” 

“ Oh, well, if it comes to that,” said the pressman, 
“I represent the Telegraph , but I’m not a prying 
sneak, and if you have some private affairs on hand, I 
give you my word that I’ll respect them.” 

The two men sat down with the partners, and Tom 
signed to the waiter to attend on them, and the conver- 
sation became general. 

“ Well, boys, I must say it is a long time since I 
had the pleasure of dining with such an original com- 
pany,” remarked the pressman, who had introduced 
himself as Jim Penfold, as the meal neared conclusion. 

“ He usually dines with the Members of Parliament, 
you know,” explained Bob Inglis, late captain of the 
Eastern Star , and all laughed. Meanwhile Tom and 
Richard had been talking together in an undertone, and 
as the laughter at the expense of the law-makers died 
away, Tom said: 

“ Mr. Inglis and Mr. Penfold, our manner of intro- 
duction has been rather strange, but perhaps the friend- 
ship between us will be more lasting because of that. 
My comrades have just requested me to ask you if you 
would again give us the pleasure of your company to 
dinner on board the Cinderella some day next week.” 

“ What ! ” cried the two men. “ On board the Cin- 
derella! ” 


54 The Pearl Seekers 

“ My dear young friends,” said Penfold, “ we are not 
fishes.” 

“ I hope I didn’t say you were,” said Tom. 

“ But the Cinderella is at the bottom of the sea ! ” 

“ She won’t be then.” 

“ Then you mean to raise her,” cried Penfold. 
“ Boys, I had thought of that myself, but I fear it is 
impossible.” 

“ Oh, we don’t believe in that word. Will you be 
on board, say, next Friday evening, a week to-night, at 
seven o’clock ? ” 

“ If she’s floating, I’ll be there,” cried Penfold. 

“.And I’ll attend though I have to go in a diving- 
dress,” said Captain Inglis. 

“ Then as we have little time to waste in hunting 
round for appliances and necessary tools, can any of 
you gentlemen tell us where to go to procure a steam 
tug and a barge with steam winches ? ” 

“ Great centipedes ! ” exclaimed Penfold. “ You are 
not going to attempt to raise her yourselves, are 
you ” 

“ We have that intention,” said Tom. 

“ But you are only boys, and to raise that ship 
would tax the skill of the best engineers and divers in 
Australia.” 

“ Nevertheless, if she is worth raising we will float 
her at the beginning of next week, if we can procure a 
tug and some chains.” 

“ I’ll get that for you,” cried Inglis. “ I had that 
all arranged for myself. My friend, Captain Seymour, 
who was with me in this hotel this morning, is even 
now waiting for me on board one at Circular Quay. 
He thought the craft was sure to fall to us, and went 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 55 

off to charter a tug so that we could go and have a look 
at where she lay.” 

“ But your friend may not feel kindly disposed to- 
wards us,” said Richard. 

“What! Jim? Why, he’ll laugh for a week at the 
idea of boys beating us.” 

“ Lord, what a scoop this would turn out ! ” groaned 
Penfold ; “ and I cannot use it. Say, boys, do you mind 
me coming out with you ? I am a reporter, that’s true ; 
but I won’t say a word in the paper unless you give me 
leave, and I am mighty curious to see how you are go- 
ing to carry this thing through.” 

“ You may come and see the ship raised, if you like,” 
replied Tom. “ But we will not start until Monday 
morning, as we cannot stop in the middle of our work, 
and we have to gather together several tools. If you 
would kindly show one of us where that tug lies, Cap- 
tain Inglis, we would be grateful, for we could charter 
it at once.” 

“ But look here, boys. The owners will do you in 
for more than the tub with its kettle is worth. Now, if 
you would allow me to arrange the affair I am sure it 
would save you more dollars than would buy your tram 
fares. — But perhaps money is no object to you fel- 
lows?” 

“ On the contrary, it means a great deal,” said Tom. 

“ We have only a limited amount to work on, and al- 
though it is ample, yet we cannot afford to be foolish 
in our expenditure, and we shall greatly appreciate your 
help if it is not putting you to a great deal of trouble.” 

“ Not another word,” cried Inglis, rising. “ Some 
of you who know all your requirements come along with 
me and we’ll get everything fixed in no time.” 


5<S 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Thomson and Powell, you are our engineers ; you 
had better go with Captain Inglis and get on board the 
tug by to-morrow everything that we shall require.” 

Without a word the two engineers got up and fol- 
lowed their new friend, and then Penfold turned to the 
others. “Haven’t you a job for me?” he asked. “I 
am as good as an ordinary workman, at any rate.” 

“ I thought you were on the staff of the T ele- 
graph?” said Richard, with a smile. 

“ My dear boy, the T ele graph wouldn’t think me 
worth the price of the gum on a postage stamp if I 
didn’t get my finger in this little pie.” 

“ But you have already promised secrecy,” said Tom 
anxiously. 

“ And I’ll be as secret as a Federal Minister in all 
you wish. I only want to write up something I have 
an idea for now, and you yourselves shall revise the 
proofs and score out whatever you think affects you. 
Now, give me a job.” 

“ Well, we will,” cried Richard. “ Do you see that 
man out in the hall — that one with the umbrella and the 
eye-glasses ? ” 

“ That sailor fellow ? What of him ? ” 

“ In the first place, he is disguised ; for I saw him 
adjust his beard through that mirror over there. In 
the second place, he is looking for us; and as he seems 
to be, begging your pardon, either another pressman or 
some one prying into our business, we would like you 
to tackle him and act for us. — Confound him, here he 
comes. Some one has just pointed us out to him.” 

“Are you the gentlemen who bought that wreck 
this morning ? ” the stranger asked politely, coming into 
the dining-room. 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 57 

“ Bull’s eye first shot/’ answered Penfold, taking 
upon himself at once the position Richard had given 
him. 

“ Then what will you take for her ? ” 

“ Oh, we’re not inclined to sell.” 

“Oh, come off that. Just name your figure without 
any beating round.” 

“ Um. Whom are you acting for ? ” 

“ Never mind, I’ll foot the bill. What’s the total ? 
The blamed train from Newcastle was late to-day, or 
I would have got her at the sale. She was sold only 
two minutes before I got there, and I’ve been hunting 
round for you fellows ever since.” 

“ I am sorry, but she is not for sale.” 

“ What ! You can do nothing with her.” 

“ Excuse me, we can. We can close the sea-cocks, 
and probably her port-holes, and raise her, and inci- 
dentally have another inquiry as to how she sank.” 

“ Do you mean to say ” 

“ — That if you are within this hotel when the police, 
whom I am now going to summons, arrive they will 
pull that beard from your face, and I fancy Captain 
Carron will have another little spell in Darlinghurst 
Temperance Boarding Establishment. Oh, you are off? 
Sorry — Good-bye.” 

The boys looked at Penfold for an explanation, and 
just then Inglis came in in a great hurry. 

“ I’ve been offered a thousand down for the Cinder- 
ella, boys, so I came back to tell you. Your chums 
wouldn’t come — said they left all these things to you, 
and bet me my skipper’s ticket against their next dinner 
that you wouldn’t sell.” 

“ A thousand pounds,” reflected Tom. “ Why, with 


58 


The Pearl Seekers 


that in addition to our own money we could go straight 
away and buy ” 

“ You have lost your bet, Captain/’ cried Penfold. 
“ I am acting here now, and only a minute ago I 
dropped on information worth a gold-mine. It was 
the insurance people sold the boat to-day, and who do 
you think wanted to buy her back just now? He said 
he was too late at the sale. No, you couldn’t guess. 
Captain Carron, her last skipper; and if that does not 
make it plain to you that the Cinderella is worth her 
original cost price minus the expenses of lifting her — 
well, you are denser than I take you to be.” 

“ Captain Carron ! ” cried Inglis. “ Great Sydney ! 
Why, he was mixed up in that affair about the Boo- 
loomooloo! ” 

“And also the Dingoe, and the Bathurst Lass, and 
probably several others.” 

“ Then I know it all now. Seyfnour told me this 
morning. The Cinderella was sunk on the crook for 
her insurance; they sold her to-day, and Carron was to 
buy her back and probably change her name and work 
the same racket over again in New Zealand or elsewhere. 
Boys, I congratulate you — the Cinderella will be worth 
ten thousand. I’m off to fix about the tug.” Inglis 
ran out, and the others moved into the smoking-room, 
thinking many things. Jack’s* thoughts were that it 
was an easy matter to make money after all. Richard 
and Tom wondered when they would be able to sail off 
to the island, and Penfold thought that never had a 
greater scoop come to any man. 

Shortly afterwards Penfold left to attend to his own 
business, and Jack prepared to draw up a list of stores 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 59 

they would need for their cruise, while Tom and Rich- 
ard went out to make some purchases. 

They all met again at dinner in the evening, having 
accomplished their several missions — Captain Inglis 
coming back with the boys because, as he said himself, 
he had nothing to do and liked their company ; and 
Pen fold to inform them that all the reporters in Sydney 
were looking for them, a story having gone round that 
the buyers of the Cinderella intended to use her on a 
filibustering expedition to some German islands. “ Of 
course I knocked the bottom out of the story, and got 
myself into trouble with our sub-editor by using in- 
fluence with the chief to get a whole column of hair- 
raising copy for to-morrow’s paper cut out,” he said. 
“ I told my colleagues that the buyers were boys, and 
that they had merely indulged in a piece of specula- 
tion, and would probably sell her after repairing and 
painting her up.” He eyed Tom and Richard as he 
said this, but their faces were expressionless, and he 
was puzzled, for he had had half a suspicion that there 
was some truth in the story. 

“ It’s strange how stories get about,” laughed Rich- 
ard after a pause. “ I suppose we owe our fame to 
some of our fellow-passengers of the China. We’ll 
have to mount guns on the Cinderella if we mean to go 
in for filibustering.” 

“ I can lay my hands on a couple of quick-firers,” 
spoke Inglis eagerly. 

“ Thanks,” said Richard, “ but not having any in- 
tention of turning pirates, we won’t need them.” 

There was a shade of what looked like disappoint- 
ment on the Captain’s face for a moment; but Penfold 


6o 


The Pearl Seekers 


changed the subject, and soon after, at his invitation, 
they went out to the theatre. 

All next day was occupied in getting their mate- 
rial on board the tug they had chartered, and that even- 
ing they attended a concert in the Town Hall. They 
did nothing during Sunday, for they knew that their 
strength would be severely taxed before they could ob- 
tain another rest. 

At daylight on Monday morning they boarded the 
tug at a jetty near the P. & O. Wharf, and with a 
couple of barges in tow, steamed out through the Heads 
and round past Manly to the Naarabeen rocks. The 
top of one of the Cinderella's masts was above water, 
and anchoring the barges as nearly as possible on either 
side of the submerged steamer, the boys at once made 
all connections on their patent diver, and in about two 
hours after leaving the Circular Quay were ready for 
work, the crew of the tug looking on in admiring won- 
der. 

Meanwhile, as had been arranged, Penfold and In- 
glis, who both resided in Manly, the popular suburb 
by the sea quite near to the spot, rowed out in a dinghy, 
taking with them a professional diver, whose dress 
Inglis had placed on the tug on Saturday without say- 
ing anything to the boys. When they reached the tug, 
the crew, superintended by Tom, had erected and swung 
out large derricks over the sides of the barges and 
lowered four huge chains therefrom, and were now 
evidently waiting for the diver. 

To their astonishment, however, and also to the sur- 
prise of Inglis and Penfold, long ropes, copper wires, 
and air tubes had been fitted to a large boiler-like con- 
trivance, and the boys appeared to be paying it all the 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 6 1 

attention which would have been given to a diving dress 
with a man inside. 

“ Hold on, boys, we’ve brought a diver,” sang out 
Inglis. “You forgot that, but I didn’t, and this gen- 
tleman is a friend of mine who will not open his mouth 
even to call an N. S. W. land agent a prevaricator.” 

“ Thank you for your foresight,” said Tom, without 
looking round, “ but we did not forget a diver. Thom- 
son is going down now.” 

“ But not in that thing ! ” cried the diver, springing 
on to the barge and rushing forward. “ That is a 
death trap.” 

“ Stand back,” said Powell, “ I am attending here. 
Stand by the air-pump, boys.” 

“ This is murder ! ” shouted the professional. “ See 
here, boys, I’ll go down for you and it won’t cost you 
a cent.” 

“ Come, boys, be reasonable,” cried Penfold. “ This 
is sheer madness.” 

Thomson was now inside, and the patent diving ma- 
chine was swung clear of the barge on one of the der- 
rick arms. 

“ Men ! ” cried Tom, turning to the crew of the tug, 
“ keep these people back from here, and I will pay 
you well. A man is going down, and we require to 
give him all our attention.” With that he signed to 
Richard and Jack, and the windlass barrel ran round 
rapidly, and the patent diver with its living . occupant 
disappeared from sight in the ocean. A few bubbles 
rose, and the rope continued to run out, then suddenly 
it stopped. Powell all the time with the assistance of 
Inglis, who had run to help him, was working the air- 
pump. 


6 2 


The Pearl Seekers 


‘‘Are you all right?” Tom called through the tele- 
phone, but no response came, and his usual composure 
left him for a moment ; his face became ashen. The 
professional diver meanwhile had hurriedly got into his 
dress, and willing members of the crew had quickly 
made connections with another pump. 

“ Haul him up ! ” he roared to those at the winding 
gear, but they did not even look round. They were 
afraid, but they took orders from no one but Tom. 

“ Speak, David,” Tom said again. “ Shall we pull 
you up ? ” 

At that moment the other diver dropped overboard, 
and Penfold and two of the crew rushed to the winch 
to wind up what was left of Thomson, despite the boys. 

“ Stop. If you move another step I’ll shoot,” cried 
Tom. “ I am responsible for my comrade’s life, and I 
can allow no interference.” 

“ But this is murder,” shouted Penfold. “ We’ll be 
blamed for allowing it.” 

“He’s alP right!” yelled Tom; “he’s speaking. 
Oh ! ” — he ignored Penfold and the men, and turned 
again to the telephone — “ what went wrong, David ? ” 
he asked in a voice quivering with suppressed emotion, 
and his face in a bath of perspiration. 

“ Nothing,” came the reply. “ I was sick, and 
thought I was dead at first, but I’m better now. It 
makes you feel awfully dizzy, this diving.” 

“ Can you see the ship ? ” 

“ No, everything is black around me. Oh, it is the 
hull of the boat that rises in front of me — Hullo! here’s 
a big funny sort of fish looking at me ; and great Scott ! 
here’s a diver Johnny coming over to me — he has no 
business here.” 


The Raising of the ‘ Cinderella’ 6 3 

“ That is a friend, never mind him. Can you see 
the chains ? ” 

“ One is beside me. Don’t talk for a bit, and I’ll 
sail across and fix it on to the other.” 

“ There,” cried Tom triumphantly, “ I knew every- 
thing would be all right. Haul up your diver. He 
will only be in the way down below, and the ship will 
be coming up directly.” He wiped the perspiration 
from his face and smiled at Penfold and the men whom 
a minute before he had threatened to shoot. 

Powell and Inglis still worked the pumps, and Rich- 
ard and Jack stood by the hauling engine. Down on 
the bed of the ocean remained Thomson, sublimely in- 
different to everything but his own work. The hull of 
the Cinderella lay before him, her stern sunk in drift 
sand and her prow high up, a large rock amidship on 
which she rested accounting for this. She was lying 
on her side, and Thomson could see all kinds of fishes 
swimming in and out of her portholes and ventilators. 
The diver beside him was making signals to him, but 
he could not understand them, and working his me- 
chanical arms he moved himself closer. On seeing him 
approach in this manner, the diver apparently took 
fright and signalled to be hauled aloft. 

“ Where is the other chain ? ” Thomson asked, laugh- 
ing to himself, as he saw the other’s flight. 

“ Exactly thirty feet due north from the one beside 
you,” answered Tom, and the matter-of-fact diver at 
once rowed himself across under the keel of the Cinder- 
ella clutching the chain beside him by one of his me- 
chanically contrived hanging appendages and dragging 
it with him. At Tom’s order some of the crew swung 
out the derrick over which the chain passed, and then 


M 


The Pearl Seekers 


assisted him as far as the crane would reach, and steer- 
ing by the little compass mounted in front of him, 
Thomson proceeded until the chain, dropped from the 
other barge, loomed dimly ahead. The weight of the 
chain he was carrying became a great drag now, for 
it was already retarded by the side of the ship, and sus- 
pended as he was himself, his small propelling powers 
were becoming inadequate to contend against the ever- 
increasing resisting strain. An idea suddenly struck him, 
however, and laughing at the thought of forgetting his 
own invention, he caused his longest-hinged appendage to 
stretch out, then manipulating it by the controlling 
levers inside, made it swerve round. He then drew it 
in towards him, and its right-angled hooked end caught 
the distant chain and brought it too. He next caught 
both chains in a shorter arm, and lapping one over the 
other, let them go, with the result that both chain hooks 
gripped, and connection was thus established right un- 
der the Cinderella's keel. 

“ It’s done,” he spoke through the telephone. 
“ Haul me up and lower me alongside the stern now.” 

But some one was already attending to the other 
end of the ship ; for the professional diver, having per- 
ceived that the boys were not mad, but had a contri- 
vance to aid them which would soon make his profes- 
sion as simple as tram-car conducting, was eager to be 
among the first of his kind to help them. 

“ By the shirt of old Neptune,” he had said, when 
they uhscrewed his helmet, “ these boys have got hold 
of a good thing. They mean to connect these chains 
across underneath her at bow and stern, and then wind 
her up between the barges, and, by the Commonwealth ! 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 65 

they’ll do it. Their equals as engineers don’t exist any- 
where. Let me down again to give a hand at the stern. 
The boat is only in ten fathoms/’ 

Penfold smiled as he heard the diver’s story. In 
his mind’s eye he saw the floatation of a great salvage 
company with himself as a director. Just then the pat- 
ent diver was hauled above the surface. 

“ Don’t take me out,” said Thomson through his 
telephone. ' “ I don’t want to get sick again when air- 
pressure is put on.” And dragging his encasement 
along the side of the barge to the chain dropped near 
where the Cinderella’s stern should be, they swung him 
out on the derrick arm and dropped him down again. 
When he got below and the sand had settled, he found 
that the other diver had already crossed to the far chain 
and was bringing it towards him, but as the stern was 
almost covered by piled-up sand he was compelled to 
bring it underneath only a little abaft midship. Thom- 
son at once took advantage of the help given and pad- 
died towards him with the other chain, and connection 
was made in almost no time. The diver then pointed 
to the open portholes and made a gesture which even 
at the bottom of the ocean was easily read, and next 
instant went flying to the surface, followed by a swarm 
of inquisitive fish. 

“ Ask that chap to lower another couple of chains 
in the right place and come down again,” said Thom- 
son. “ He’s not a bad sort, but how in thunder hasn’t 
he got a telephone connection ? ” 

“ He’s doing that now,” answered Tom. “ What 
are they for ? ” 

“ So that we can pass them under when we raise 

(b 761) F 


66 


The Pearl Seekers 


the stern out of the mud. Our present chains are too 
near the centre. Tell them to heave away gently on 
the stern winches.” 

Tom passed on the order, and willing men sprang 
to obey, but Powell held up one hand. 

“ A moment,” he cried. “ Let some one else come 
here. I must be at the hauling myself. Thomson is 
my comrade.” 

“ Right you are, boy,” cried Penfold, taking his 
place at the air-pump, and Powell at once sprang to the 
huge steam winding-engine and grasped the lever. 

“ Tell him I am here, and ask him to say when he 
is ready,” he called. 

“ He’s just been asking you to stand by the engine,” 
said Tom, “ and he is ready now. Heave away gently.” 

Powell flung the lever over and the engine started, 
and all its complicated gear came into whirring motion. 
The chain rolled itself slowly on the great drum, and 
all stood by expectantly. 

“Stop her!” suddenly cried Tom, and in a flash 
the engine stopped dead. The other diver had mean- 
while dropped overboard again, and in a few minutes 
Thomson called : “ Slacken now till we remove the 

old chains. We’ve gripped her right at the screw.” 
He was instantly obeyed, and then came the command, 
“ Haul me up now, and Powell and I will work both 
winding-engines.” 

In a minute he was on top, and gasping in the fresh 
air. “ Jupiter ! boys, but diving is funny work,” he 
spluttered, for he could not speak. “ It is great fun.” 
He did not seem to have enjoyed it nevertheless, but 
Inglis poured some brandy into his mouth, and he then 
came round rapidly. “ She’s a beauty, boys,” was all 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 67 

he said, and then ran to the winches at the bow end 
of the Cinderella , one of the crew taking his place at 
the corresponding engine on the opposite barge, and an- 
other opposite Powell at the stern. 

“ Haul away at your end first, Powell,” cried Thom- 
son, “ till we get her hung fair.” 

Powell and the man opposite him started their en- 
gines, and the onlookers held their breath. Slowly the 
huge drums revolved. There, was a jerk or two, and 
then the rear mast came up until it showed itself above 
water. Then Thomson and his companion at the 
winches on the barge opposite started their engines, 
and the ship rose bodily and faster until both masts 
were level, and they knew that she was now in a hori- 
zontal position. 

And still the drums revolved and the wet chains 
wound themselves upon them. And then the funnel 
appeared, and a cheer burst from all. The chains 
creaked, and the winches groaned, and the barges listed 
heavily to the inside, and while they gazed the top of 
the deck-house broke the surface of the water. Next 
moment the ventilators appeared, and then the deck. 

“ Boys, we can’t hold her,” cried the chief engineer 
of the tug in alarm ; “ we can’t keep steam to hold that 
strain. There’s a thousand tons of water in her.” 

“ Keep the utmost pound of pressure on her for ten 
minutes,” cried Thomson, “ and we’ll be done.” 

The diver had now come up ; he had been “ doing 
something below,” he said, and on being taken from his 
dress at once saw the position of affairs, and with Thom- 
son plunged into the sea and swam towards the Cinder- 
ella. Next minute they had attached cables to her star- 
board side, and Powell had connected them with auxili- 


68 


The Pearl Seekers 

ary engines. The tug’s engineer, grasping the idea at 
once, rushed to Powell’s assistance, and started the en- 
gines, and the Cinderella was pulled over in her sup- 
porting chains to the port side until the water poured 
out through her portholes in a series of cataracts. 
When no more water came, Thomson, the diver, and 
several of the tug’s crew jumped on board with wrenches 
and closed the ports ; the auxiliary engines, at Thom- 
son’s signal, now eased off, and the Cinderella reeled to 
a correct position. 

“ Slacken off the chain,” yelled Thomson, standing 
on her deck. He was obeyed, and then a wild and pro- 
longed cheer burst from every one. The Cinderella was 
floating. 

“ It’s lucky I thought of those sea-cocks,” muttered 
the diver to himself, but Tom and Penfold heard him 
and understood. 

“ Captain Inglis, will you take command ? ” cried 
Tom, looking towards the yacht. 

“ With the greatest pleasure in life, my boy,” an- 
swered Inglis, jumping on board and seizing the wheel. 
“ Right away, lads,” he shouted to the tug’s people. 
“ To the best anchoring ground in Middle Harbour.” 

With whistles blowing, crew cheering, and Penfold, 
the tug’s skipper, and engineer almost frantic with de- 
light, the tug started for Middle Harbour, and this time 
she had three vessels in tow. Never had any one of 
the company seen or heard of a smarter piece of work, 
and their admiration of all was unbounded. 

Middle Harbour, one of the picturesque arms of 
Sydney Harbour, was reached in the afternoon; the 
Cinderella was safely anchored, and the tug took every 
one ashore at Circular Quay. Richard gave the crew 


The Raising of the ‘Cinderella’ 69 

a present of a sovereign per man, and then, with the 
skipper, the engineer, the diver, Penfold, and Inglis, the 
five proud partners walked to the hotel for dinner. 
And it was early next morning before the party broke 
up. Next day the exploit was ringing through the city, 
but Penfold had nothing to do with the story. 


CHAPTER IV 


The ‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 

On Tuesday morning the partners again hired the tug, 
and with a powerful steam pump on board went out to 
their property. She lay exactly as they had left her, 
sunk well over her lines, with the water still in her, but 
apparently not increasing her burden by leakage; and, 
pleased that they had secured such a quiet spot for their 
work of overhauling and refitting, the boys at once set 
to at that task. Thomson and Powell rigged up the 
pump on the Cinderella's deck, and, with steam sup- 
plied from the tug’s boilers and led across with piping, 
proceeded to empty her, the others exploring the vessel 
as the water went down and finding much to surprise 
them. 

The Cinderella was divided into three water-tight 
compartments, but strangely enough the bulkheads were 
not closed; and marvelling greatly that such an easy 
and effective method of keeping the Cinderella afloat by 
shutting the doors and thus limiting any damage to the 
one compartment affected had not been adopted, they 
at once closed them, with the assistance of the tug’s 
crew, for the pressure of water behind the heavy iron 
barriers was greater than they could themselves over- 
come. When this was done, the pump suction-pipe was 
dropped into the engine-room division, which was soon 
drained until the beautiful set of triple expansion en- 
70 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 71 

gines were uncovered, and the shafting laid bare. 
The pump was then connected to the stern section, 
while the tug’s pump tackled the fore compartment, and 
as the Cinderella rose higher and higher in the water 
and showed her clean-cut lines the wonder increased 
that such a ship should have been so wilfully abandoned. 

“ Boys, she is driven by oil fuel,” cried Powell sud- 
denly. “ The very latest patents too ! ” He had been 
exploring in the stoke-hole to find out the extent of any 
damage, and his comrades now rushed down to inspect 
the arrangement of pipes, jets, and spraying appliances 
he had discovered. 

“ This is luck,” said Thomson. “ We can work her 
ourselves now without extra help, and if we find tim- 
ber on the island we can disconnect this system of firing 
and burn wood in the furnaces for moving about slowly 
or keeping steam up.” 

His partners understood little about such matters, 
but they knew that what Thomson and Powell did not 
know of matters pertaining to engineering was a di- 
minutive quantity, so they did not trouble themselves 
much on the matter, and went ofif again to continue their 
examinations. 

Meanwhile the two engineers busied themselves 
about the boilers, and found that they were in perfect 
condition and even contained water. 

“ Yes, it is quite true about this being another dodge 
to cheat the insurance companies,” remarked Thomson 
as he traced the oil-supply pipes to their source and 
found the oil tanks well supplied. 

“ Have you discovered anything fresh ? ” asked 
Powell, who also was wondering what had caused the 
sinking of the ship. 


72 


The Pearl Seekers 

“ Well, it seems to me that the people on board 
made all preparations before she went down to ensure 
that no damage would be done. Just look at this 
gauge. Why, the boilers would have burst if there had 
been any fire under them when the water came in. They 
were ready for her to go down.” 

“ Of course,” agreed Powell. " They meant to raise 
her again when they bought her back from the insur- 
ance people. Penfold told me this morning that we 
can sell her for anything up to ten thousand if we like, 
but she’s worth that to ourselves.” 

“ Well, I vote we light up and get some steam in 
her boilers. We can heat up the engines, and perhaps 
take a turn or two out of them then, and in any case it 
will help the place to dry much faster.” 

Powell agreed, and while Thomson experimented 
with the furnace oil-feeds he rushed off to clean and 
lubricate the piston-rods and other working parts of the 
engines, and thus, just as the pumps drew up the last of 
the bilge-water in the other compartments the Cinder- 
ella's propeller began to revolve slowly. Of course she 
was tied fast to the two barges and well anchored, so 
could not make headway, but the fact that she was now 
able to travel at all was the occasion for much cheering 
among the tug’s people and much satisfaction to the 
partners. 

In the afternoon the tug departed and brought back 
a quantity of stores which Captain Inglis had obtained, 
and that night when the tug went off it took the two 
barges in tow, and with them was discarded for good, 
the partners paying all hands well for the voluntary 
work they had undertaken. 

Next day the boys returned with an army of paint- 


i Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 73 

ers and labourers and worked until night cleaning, dry- 
ing, repairing, and painting the inside and outside 
of the ship. Thursday they occupied in the same 
way, and installed fresh bedding in the cabins. They 
slept on board that night, and the next morning took a 
trial run to the head of Middle Harbour. There was 
no traffic in these waters except for the leisurely sail- 
ings of one or two pleasure craft, and Richard, who it 
seemed included a knowledge of handling steamers 
among his accomplishments, had no trouble in guiding 
the Cinderella wherever he wished to take her. Thom- 
son and Powell had no eye for the exquisite scenery 
which flanked them on the placid waterway ; they were 
down below, one attending to the oil- jets that fed the 
fires and the other in the engine-room. Tom and Jack 
divided their time between watching Richard on the 
bridge and the engineers down in the lower regions, 
and were highly delighted with everything. It was in- 
deed a new life to them. 

They came back to their anchorage early, and fitted 
up the saloon with electric light. They would have done 
this before, only the armature of the ship’s dynamos 
had been ruined by the water and had to be sent on 
shore to some of the Sydney electricians to be rewound. 
It was brought out to them soon after their return, and 
when they had fitted it in its place and got the lights 
all in order they prepared fancy decorations for the 
saloon table, for they remembered they were giving a 
dinner that evening. 

In the afternoon the men from one of the leading 
Sydney purveyors came out in a steam launch and 
took charge of all arrangements for the entertain- 
ment, and in the evening the launch went back for 


74 


The Pearl Seekers 

the guests and the partners retired to their cabins to 
dress. Their work was done exactly as they had cal- 
culated it would be, and they were now ready for the 
next stage. 

At seven o’clock the launch puffed up to the lowered 
gangway of the Cinderella, and Captain Inglis in all 
the dignity of his position as a R. N. R. officer, his 
friend Captain Seymour, Penfold and his friend Mr. 
Roderick, the diver, and the skipper and engineer of the 
tug which had helped them so much came on board. 

A faint shadow of smoke hung above the funnel, 
and the slightest suspicion of a sound like steam blow- 
ing off could be heard. As the party stepped on deck 
the lights were switched on and they saw a ship as 
smart in appearance as ever had been seen in Sydney 
Harbour. The partners met them and led them to the 
grand saloon where another surprise awaited the vis- 
itors, for instead of the damp, disagreeable apartment 
they had expected to find, they saw a brilliantly-lit sa- 
loon almost gorgeously furnished and upholstered, with 
large mirrors on the walls and the woodwork freshly 
varnished. The table in the centre, too, was set as if 
for a state banquet, and artistically-arranged electric 
lamps shown through the beautiful flowers and minia- 
ture palm trees from every available position of vantage. 

The visitors were speechless with amazement at the 
wonderful transformation effected in so short a time. 
Penfold would have liked to ask some questions as to 
how they had managed it, but he did not know where 
to begin, and he now felt somewhat awed by the 
magnificence of his surroundings and concluded that 
the whole was the result of a strange whim of youths 
who must be millionaires. He did not guess, and the 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 75 

partners did not tell him, that they had spent very 
little indeed upon the furnishings, and that most of it 
was the original property of the yacht, dried, cleaned, 
and touched up, while full advantage had been taken of 
mirrors, flowers, and electric light as aids to effective 
decoration. 

Inglis and Seymour were also very much bewildered, 
but being world-wanderers endowed with that peculiar 
nature which thinks it a failing ever to show surprise, 
they took their places without comment, although 
Inglis’s glance of admiration at the boys conveyed a 
great deal. 

The others, having no reasons for silence and not 
knowing the nature of the partners so well as Inglis 
and Penfold, expressed their astonishment and approval 
at great length ; but the gong sounding for dinner put 
an end to their remarks for the time, and before that 
function was over they had become so accustomed to 
surprises that had they been told they were prisoners, 
and that the Cinderella was bound for some South 
American Republic port with them as hostages from 
Australia, they would have taken it all as a matter of 
course. 

Some thought of this nature did strike Penfold, who, 
being gifted with a keen imagination and having heard 
some more strange rumours of a plot to seize some 
debatable South Sea island by a filibustering expedi- 
tion, which could be disowned by the Government if it 
did not succeed, was so greatly carried away by the 
abilities of the undemonstrative quintette that he was 
already forming in his mind how such a plan could be 
effected by just such a craft as the swift-steaming 
Cinderella and her owners. He was still lost in the 


7 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


flights of his fancy when a sudden jerk aroused him, 
and in a moment the vibration which sprung into being, 
and the sensation of slipping through water, told him 
that the Cinderella had picked up her anchor and was 
off — to the South Pole for all he knew. 

The rhythmic thud of the engines and the churning 
of the screw grew faster and faster. “ By Sydney Har- 
bour ! we’re trapped ! ” he shouted springing to his feet 
and gazing round. There was no one in the saloon. He 
rushed up the companion-way and out on deck. Then 
he stopped and lit a cigar, and wiped the perspiration 
from his face. The boys and their guests were all up 
on the bridge, laughing and talking in a manner which 
showed that if they were all filibusters they found much 
satisfaction in their new role. 

“ Great Pitman ! ” he exclaimed. “ I nearly gave my- 
self away. I’ve been sleeping, I can see, and these 
wonderful young men are showing how the ship can 
travel — and by hocky, she can travel!” He joined the 
others. 

“ Hello, Penfold,” sang out Captain Inglis, who had 
the steering-wheel in his hand, “ I thought you had gone 
ashore with the waiters and cooks in the launch.” 

“ Not likely,” returned Penfold, “ when anything 
like this was coming. Where are we going?” 

“ Oh, out for a bit of a cruise. We’ve got a quick- 
firer down below, which we’ll mount when we get clear 
of interfering gunboats.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” 

“Why, don’t you know? You were dreaming 
about it when we left you in the saloon, anyhow. I 
hope you have plenty of pencils and paper with you, 
for you’ll get as much of your confounded copy as you 
want this trip.” 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 77 

“ Then I was right/’ cried Penfold. “ We are fili- 
busters ! ” 

The three boys laughed. Thomson and Powell were 
on duty below. 

“ Are you afraid ? ” queried the skipper of the tug, 
eyeing the surge flying past with a professional eye. 

“ No, not exactly/’ answered the pressman, “ but I 
wish I had got some warning. There is a big interest- 
ing article coming out in the Telegraph about this ship 
and its boy owners the first day after I disappear. You 
see I guessed this business some time ago.” 

The Cinderella was speeding down the main har- 
bour and the many lights of Sydney were far behind. 
Manly glowed on the port bow, and the lights of Rose 
Bay suburb shone out on the starboard side. They were 
now nearing the Heads, and raced past the Manly 
steamer Brighton with the greatest of ease. An out- 
going coaster was next passed, and then the Howard 
Smith Company’s Gabe. 

Out to the open sea they rushed, and the great 
revolving beacon on South Head flashed across them 
for a moment and then receded southwards. With a 
deft turn of the wheel, Inglis threw the steamer round, 
and she raced away down the coast. 

“ This is not the way to the islands,” said Penfold. 
“ We’ll meet all the Melbourne steamers on this 
course. Why, there is the Orient Liner Omrah coming 
up now ! ” 

“ Well, let her come,” laughed Seymour. “ We’ll 
alter our course when she passes, and then no one will 
know where we go.” 

“ It’s all very interesting,” said Penfold, “ but we’re, 
rather short-handed, aren’t we? Or perhaps there’s a 
number of men hidden below till we get clear ? ” 


78 


The Pearl Seekers 

“ See what it is to be a newspaper man,” laughed 
Inglis. “ He knows everything by instinct.” 

“ Don’t be alarmed, Mr. Penfold,” said Tom, “ it’s 
all a joke.” 

“ Oh, I’m not alarmed, young man. I rather enjoy 
this. Of course I will miss the scoop, but I will have 
something to write about when we get back after seiz- 
ing the island.” 

“ That is all nonsense,” said Tom. 

“ We may not get back, you know,” put in Inglis, 
“ and in any case we’re sure to have some gun practice 
first, for there’s a German gunboat running down from 
Singapore now.” 

“ Oh, that doesn’t worry me,” laughed Penfold, now 
resolved to make the best of his position. “ I suppose 
these boys will have some patent up their sleeves or in 
their vest pockets by which we’ll become invisible when 
there is danger. But what is the matter? We’ve 
slowed down.” 

“ Yes,” remarked Seymour ; “ we’ve got to get back 
now. I have to take the old Marboo out to-morrow for 
Brisbane, and anyhow it’s a bit late.” 

“ You are going back ! ” cried Penfold., “ You don’t 
mean to say you have been joking?” 

“ Sorry I am to have to say so,” said Inglis. “ To- 
morrow I’ll be tramping around the shipping offices 
again, looking for a billet as a cook or maybe a steward.” 

“ Dear me,” said Penfold sorrowfully, “ and I had 
an article all planned out for dropping overboard in a 
bottle to-night.” 

“ Some other time will do, perhaps,” said Seymour, 
and the pressman walked away feeling greatly disap- 
pointed. 


•‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 79 

An hour afterwards they were landed in the Cin- 
derella's dinghy at Manly, in time for those who re- 
sided in the city to catch the last boat home. As Inglis 
stepped ashore with a hearty “ Good-night then, boys,” 
Tom touched him on the arm. “ You might come back 
when you can get rid of the others,” he said. “ We’ll 
wait here for you with the dinghy.” 

“ All right, boy,” said the Captain kindly. “Any- 
thing wrong ? ” 

“No, that is — we have a proposition to make to 
you.” 

“ I’ll be back in five minutes. I’ll see these fellows 
to the end of the jetty so as not to let them know.” 
He ran after the others, and Tom turned to Richard. 

“ I suppose we can risk it? ” he said. 

“ I think so,” Richard replied. “ He may cut up 
rough, but we’ll take that chance. We need him any- 
how, for Powell and Thomson will have to work like 
niggers in the engine-room and stoke-hole the whole 
time. How much money have we yet?” 

“ About four hundred and fifty pounds.” 

“ Then we’ll do it. Of course, Tom, you know I 
am not just sure that we are not going filibustering.” 

“ I don’t know how the law of nations regards these 
matters, but as we are wronging no one we need have 
no fear.” 

“ Hush ! Here comes Inglis.” 

“ Well boys, what can I do for you ? ” cried the 
Captain cheerily. “ Command me to the utmost.” 

“ That is just what we are going to do,” answered 
Tom. “ But come out and sleep on board to-night, 
and we’ll talk there.” 

The Captain jumped into the dinghy without a 


8o 


The Pearl Seekers 

word, and, following him they pushed off. Ten min- 
utes later they stood again on the Cinderella’s decks; 
then, stepping to the bridge, Richard rang down “ Full 
speed ahead,” and in response the ship glided away to- 
wards her old anchorage. 

Meanwhile Tom was engaging the Captain in con- 
versation. 

“You’ve sailed a lot in the South Seas, Captain?” 
he said. 

“ A good bit, my boy. I don’t think there are many 
islands there I have not seen.” 

“Does a ship going to, say, the Fiji Islands require 
papers of identification of any kind?” 

“ Rather. Every ship that leaves a civilised port 
must have a sort of a clearance bill, otherwise she might 
easily turn a pirate, and no one would be able to detect 
her but for her papers, which she must show should 
any gunboat demand to see them.” 

“ I see.” Tom thought for a moment. “ Is it a very 
difficult matter getting the necessary documents — I 
mean — could you get them ? ” 

“ If I had a ship I could get them exactly five min- 
utes after landing at Circular Quay.” 

“ Can you not get a ship ? ” 

“ Not easily. You see there are so many skippers 
sailing as even third mates now, and unless one has 
some special influence, one has a very poor chance of 
getting a command. Not that I care, except that my 
old mother will miss my money, and I’ll go as a 
blamed pen-pushing purser before she’ll suffer.” 

“ How much can you earn in — say six months, Cap- 
tain?” 

“As a skipper on the Australian coast, eighteen 


c Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 81 


pounds a month, that is a hundred and eight pounds; 
but as anything else, of course, much less.” 

“ Oh, we are entering Middle Harbour again. 
Captain Inglis, you know more about us than any 
other man south of the Equator. We can pay you your 
six months’ salary now. Will you take command of 
the Cinderella, and get all necessary papers for clearing 
this port to-morrow ? ” 

“ Will I? I should just think I would. But do you 
mean it? Don’t joke with a poor beggar down on his 
luck.” 

“ We are not joking. We can’t, although Thomson 
and the others might. Can you arrange matters so 
,that we can leave Sydney to-morrow night ? ” 

“I can. Where for?” 

“ Is it necessary to say ? ” 

“ Well, it is advisable. Say the name of your most 
distant port.” 

Tom and Richard consulted for a moment, and then 
informed the Captain that Suva in the Fiji Islands 
would answer their purpose. 

“ And the name of the owners ? ” asked the Captain, 
“ or a name to represent them ? ” 

“ The Union Exploration Syndicate,” said Tom. 

“ Oh ! Well, I must have the name of one of the 
Syndicate for Board of Trade purposes — that is, if you 
are British.” 

“I should just think we are,” said Tom; “English, 
Irish, Scotch, and Welsh, and now we are to have an 
Australian captain.” 

“ Put down the name of Tom Grenville as repre- 
senting the Syndicate,” said Richard from the bridge ; 
“ he is our chief anyway.” 

(b 761) 


G 


82 The Pearl Seekers 

Tom began to protest, but the Captain interrupted 
him. 

“ Don’t worry, sir,” he said deferentially, for he was 
now addressing the Chairman of his Directors; “it just 
means that you are the one held responsible for the 
conduct of the ship, and there is not much glory in 
that. I will get everything settled the first thing in 
the morning, and then see my mother. I shall be on 
board at any hour you mention.” 

“ Then here is the money for your six months’ serv- 
ices,” said Tom. “ It is in gold, for we opened no 
account i-i Sydney. Report yourself to me here at five 
in the afternoon.” 

“ Oh, but boys — I couldn’t take that — I — I might 
not come back, you know. You don’t know me.” 

“You’ll be here at five, Captain Inglis,” said Tom; 
“ and if you can engage one junior officer to assist you, 
do so. Mr. Preston will be your second.” 

“ All right, sir ; I can get my old third. He’s a de- 
cent fellow, although a bit wild at times, and I can 
guarantee him. But may I ask, have you thought of 
everything you require? Is there nothing further I can 
do?” 

“ No, I think not. We have arranged everything. 
I am somewhat troubled, however, on a small matter 
— that is, we don’t want more men on board than we can 
handle ourselves, yet we almost require a cook of some 
kind, and at least one steward or general servant.” 

“ I see.” The Captain reflected. “ You are afraid 
of something,” he suggested, eyeing Tom with half- 
averted glance. 

“We are not afraid of anything; but we must be 
able to control — by force, if need be.” 


Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 83 

“ I’ll do that for you. You surely don’t think I 
will run against you ? ” 

“ No, I don’t think so, Captain,” laughed Tom 
strangely. “ But can you suggest any compromise in 
the matter that is troubling us ? ” 

“ Oh, that is easy. We are British, and will be out 
of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. Have a 
Chinaman for cook. They are very good as a rule. 
Then you can get a Jap for general steward, and if you 
want them, a couple of Kanakas for deck hands. Then 
you can always boss things as you wish, for those 
people will never make common cause together, and 
one good thing about them is that they cost very little. 
I’ll get them for you if you like, and undertake that 
they will give satisfaction.” 

“ Very well, Captain. Engage them if you think 
you can pick up such as you suggest.” 

“ Leave that to me, sir. I’ll bring them on board 
to-morrow. Have you everything else on board ? ” 

“ Everything, Captain, so now come down and see 
if we can hunt up some supper, and we’ll get to bed.” 

“ Hullo ! we’re at the anchorage now. Excuse me 
while I let the anchor go.” 

But Jack was waiting for that purpose, and the 
Chairman of Directors of the Syndicate was spared the 
trouble — not that he would have minded it in the least, 
for theirs was a compact in which every man would do 
his utmost, whether he happened to be doing more 
than the others or not. 

Afterwards they all had supper together, and all 
expressed their pleasure at the prospect of Captain In- 
glis sailing with them. 

“ It relieves us of a lot of worry,” said Thomson ; 


8 4 


The Pearl Seekers 

“ for although Powell and I can manage in the engine- 
room and stoke-hole, the fellows on top would have 
their work cut out to navigate and handle the ship.” 

“ Do you two intend to be firemen and engineers 
combined ? ” asked the Captain. 

“ Certainly. We don’t want others. Ours is not 
exactly a pleasure cruise.” 

“ So I understand,” smiled the Captain. “ But see 
here, boys — you’ll allow me to call you boys to-night, 
won’t you? — to-morrow, of course, I sail under your or- 
ders, and will not presume ” 

“ Captain Inglis,” said Tom, “ when you know more 
of us and our object, if you care, then we will ask you 
to look upon yourself as one of us. Just now we are 
sailing under sealed orders, so to speak, and— — ” 

“ I understand, boys ; don’t trouble to explain fur- 
ther. I am going with you to attack Berlin if you like, 
although I don’t hold a pilot’s certificate for the river 
Spree. What I was going to say, however, was that 
you shouldn’t make the mistake of trying to do every- 
thing yourselves, even if to prevent other perhaps med- 
dlesome people knowing your business. Your time is 
too valuable to waste upon ordinary labour, especially 
as one can get niggers to do that. Now, I don’t know 
how your finances are, and it is none of my business, 
but I do know that I can get some Kanakas or Malays 
or Lascars to do most of the work, and they don’t re- 
quire much payment. Now, boys, if you would leave 
the matter to me, and put me ashore anywhere near 
Circular Quay to-night, I could get them before day- 
light, for I know their haunts, and I would undertake 
to pay them myself out of my own salary, if need be.” 
“ But there is no need, Captain,” broke in Tom. 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 85 

“We are not so very hard pressed for funds, and we 
shall soon recoup ourselves in any case, so if you will 
engage your own crew as you think best, always re- 
membering that we desire no publicity and already 
possess engineers and at least one good second officer, 
you will be putting us under an obligation we shall re- 
member.” 

“ All right, boys ; I think I understand. Put me 
ashore over at the Spit now, and I’ll walk up to 
Mosman and catch the night tram and boat over to 
the city.” The Captain rose, and the boys followed 
him on deck and lowered the dinghy, and in a few 
minutes he and Powell had taken their seats therein, 
Powell of course to bring back the dinghy. 

“Sure you have forgotten nothing?” the Captain 
called from the darkness. 

“ Nothing,” answered Tom. 

“ Oh, wait a minute,” cried Richard. “ You might 
order, or rather procure, a few lengths of dress material 
at some of the big shops to-morrow.” 

“ Dress material ! ” laughed all. “ Do you intend 
to make presents to the native ladies we’ll see?” 

“ No; it is a whim of mine, that is all. I’ll tell you 
later, boys. And get anything in the way of ladies’ 
requirements you can think of, Captain. I can spend 
a hundred pounds on that order personally.” 

“ No, you will not,” said Tom. “ This is a share- 
alike Syndicate, and if you know that we require these 
things the Syndicate will pay for them.” 

“ Boys, I don’t know that we’ll require them. I 
only hope we shall, and that hope is what causes me 
to be here with you.” 

“ Get them, Captain,” cried Tom. “ Hats, shoes, 


86 The Pearl Seekers 

hairpins, and ribbons, and some chocolates in fancy 
boxes.” 

“ All right,” cried the Captain, and then the plash- 
ing of the oars broke the stillness of night and gradually 
grew fainter and fainter. 

In half-an-hour Powell was back, and then the 
partners turned in, tired with their day’s work and 
with hopes running high at the thought of starting 
for the mysterious island on the morrow. When day- 
light dawned they rose and prepared themselves a 
hastily cooked breakfast, then while the engineers took 
a final look round to see that oil, tools, and all appli- 
ances were on board, and Jack ran over his list of 
stores, Tom and Richard went ashore to make a few 
special purchases. Early in the afternoon a steam 
launch hailed the Cinderella , and on coming alongside 
the boys beheld a strange assortment of humanity on 
board that made them wonder where they had all orig- 
inated. 

“ Here’s your crew,” said the man in charge of the 
launch, “ and there’s a sovereign to pay. Captain Inglis 
told me to give you this letter too.” 

Thomson stood on the gangway and opened the 
note. “ I will be on board at three o’clock,” it read. 
“ It is necessary that we get away quickly, as the most 
improbable stories are about and we may be stopped. 
I also fear some attempt to harm the Cinderella by its 
former owners, as the insurance people are going to 
cause trouble with them. Take the crew on board and 
lock them up somewhere till I come down, and have 
steam up if possible.” There was a postscript which 
ran : “ I have attended to the order for ladies’ gear and 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 87 

have got. all necessary papers. Look out for suspicious, 
small craft and don’t let them near you.” 

Thomson paid the launch attendant his sovereign, 
and the crew came on board and were promptly locked 
up in one of the larger cabins. He and Powell then set 
about getting up steam, and Jack paced the deck on 
the look-out. At two o’clock Tom and Richard came 
back in the ship’s dinghy, and at half-past two Captain 
Inglis and a boyish-looking companion with a huge pile 
of trunks and hat-boxes came alongside in another 
steam launch. Everything was soon hoisted on board, 
and then Captain Inglis introduced his friend as Fred 
Stansbury, a New Zealander whom he had known for a 
long time, and whose father was reputed to be the 
wealthiest man in the colony. 

“ Is everything on board ? ” the Captain suddenly 
asked, gazing towards the main harbour with what 
seemed an anxious expression, and on being answered 
in the affirmative he sprang upon the bridge and sig- 
nalled “ Full speed ahead.” “ Boys, take Stansbury 
round and show him the crew ; he knows what to do 
with them,” he then said. “ And don’t let anything 
happen in the engine-rcom for want of assistance.” 

But the engineers required no assistance. Powell 
had his jets forcing the oil-spray into the furnaces at 
their utmost capacity, and the steam-gauge indicated 
a pressure of 200 lbs. per square inch, and Thomson 
was standing by the starting-valve of the high-pressure 
engines as cool and collected as if he had never done 
anything else in his life. 

The instant the telegraph bell rang he turned on 
the steam and with a hiss the piston was driven slowly 


88 


The Pearl Seekers 

out and the complicated machinery sprang into motion, 
and before the anchor was really up, the water behind 
was a churning mass of foam. Faster and faster the 
pistons flew, and the hiss of steam became blended with 
a continuous muffled sound. The Cinderella, gathering 
momentum with every stroke, fairly leaped through the 
water, and in an incredibly short space of time gained 
the main harbour. 

“ Do you see that big bank of smoke crossing from 
Farm Cove?” cried the Captain as the Cinderella swung 
round and raced for the Heads. 

“Yes; it seems to be issuing from the twin funnels 
of a gunboat,” answered Richard, who stood near by. 

“ That is so, and she is bursting her boilers to head 
us off and prevent us leaving the harbour. Luckily she 
daren’t fire. That flag on our mast-head gives us the 
freedom of the high seas.” 

And now they crossed the bows of one of the Manly 
steamers and swept past a huge White Star Liner just 
beginning its long journey to London. A straight run 
now lay before them, and the swell of the Great Pacific 
struck them as they cleared the Heads with port rail 
almost touching the water. Still the Cinderella held on 
her course towards the open sea, and soon were left 
behind the white beaten tracks of the Melbourne and 
homeward-bound steamers, while stretching far to the 
north could be traced the high-sea route to Brisbane and 
Queensland ports. 

Stansbury soon showed that he knew how to handle 
a mixed crew, and it was indeed wonderful how he 
made them go on with their respective duties without 
comment of any kind. Tom was with him, and took 
the names of each as they came out of the cabin in 


c Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 89 

which they had been locked. The little Japanese came 
first. 

“ What’s your name ? ” demanded Stansbury in a 
tone of voice which threatened instant execution. 

“ Jack Kotay, sir,” responded the little man, with a 
bright smile. 

“ What can you do ? ” 

“ Anything. Cook — wash up — pare potatoes — fight 
— tell lies and sing.” 

“ You seem all right. Sign your name on this book. 
You are chief steward.” 

The Chinaman came out next. “ Wha’ fo’ you keep 
me fo’ so long? My name Ah Sing. I was velly good 
cook on ship way up Thursday Island.” 

“ All right, John. Get something ready to eat as soon 
as you can. You’ll find the galley somewhere. I haven’t 
seen it myself yet.” 

Ah Sing smiled serenely and glided away. Then 
the Kanakas were brought forth and shown their duties ; 
and lastly three fierce-looking specimens of humanity 
came forward, and one acting as spokesman said, with- 
out waiting to be asked : “ We Manilla men — good fire- 
men — got discharge from Amurican ship ” 

“ Then you belong to the engineering department,” 
interrupted the young officer. “ You’ll find the stoke- 
hole down there.” The Philippines departed, laugh- 
ing to themselves ; then Stansbury and Tom went on 
deck. 

The Cinderella was still speeding along, rolling in the 
great swell from rail to rail. Captain Inglis stood on 
the bridge, a cigar in his mouth, and his eyes fixed far 
ahead. Sydney Heads were rapidly becoming merged 
in the horizon, and nothing else was in sight. 


9o 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Well, boys,” cried the Captain gaily, “ we’re off 
anyhow, and we had an escort out.” 

“ What was the meaning of that gunboat following 
us? ” asked Tom. 

“ I believe a story got about that the Cinderella was 
intended for a modern pirate or something of that sort. 
I heard from Seymour this morning that steps were to 
be taken to prevent us leaving, and when, shortly after 
sending the crew aboard, I was going back to the city 
on the Manly boat I saw signs that H.M.S. Pegasus 
was getting ready for a cruise, so I investigated a little 
and found out that she was coming to examine us and 
other things, and — well — here we are, and I don’t think 
we’ll ever see her again until we come back to Syd- 
ney.” 

“How are we heading now, Captain?” asked Tom. 

“ East-nor’-east, sir. On this course we should see 
Lord Howe Island, and leave it about twelve miles on 
our port ; Norfolk Island should appear about the same 
distance to starboard. After I correct the course to- 
night, we’ll run as straight as a rifle-ball to the Fijis.” 

“ Tell me when we reach the hundred and fifty- 
eighth meridian, will you, Captain? I must go below 
now and see how we can arrange things so as to relieve 
Thomson and Powell.” 

“All right, sir. Lord Howe Island lies almost in 
that meridian, and if we don’t meet any weather we 
should be. off its coast on Monday forenoon.” 

Tom went below and found Powell in the engine- 
room. “ Where’s Thomson ? ” he asked. 

“Turned in to try to get a sleep. He will relieve 
me to-night sometime.” 

“ But — but who is at the fires ? ” 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 91 

“ Oh, they are all right. These Manilla men have 
been at the game before, and Thomson and I have al- 
ready divided them into watches. Of course we’ll take 
every alternate twelve hours here ourselves, and will 
always have an eye on the firemen.” 

Tom went on into the stoke-hole and found one of 
the Manilla men polishing up some brass gauge-cocks 
and singing. He stopped as Tom entered, and saluted 
him respectfully. 

“Are you used to this sort of work?” asked Tom, 
acknowledging the salute. 

“ Yes, sir. Me fireman on big Amurican ship long 
time. She no use coal too, same as this.” 

“ Ah, I see. Well, look here, Aquinili, if you do 
your work well I will give you a lot of money more 
than your pay. Tell your comrades that, will you?” 

“ Yes, sir. We all do our best, and hope you become 
President.” 

Tom turned to go on deck, and met Jack just coming 
in. Jack was excited. “ Why, what’s the matter. 
Jack,” he cried, as they both went up on deck together. 

“ Oh, set your brains working, Tom, and give me 
something to do. There’s Thomson and Powell working 
like slaves, and Richard taking his watch on the bridge, 
and you looking after everything, and here am I doing 
nothing. I am sure I know enough of engineering to 
take my turn in the engine-room.” 

“ My dear Jack,” said Tom, laying his hand on his 
comrade’s arm, “ you know our old compact : every man 
was to do his utmost, irrespective of what the others 
might be doing. Now it so happens that Thomson and 
Powell are doing more than any of us, but they don’t 
object — in fact I am sure they are glad to be able to 


92 


The Pearl Seekers 


show how willing they are, and we all know your turn 
comes when we get there.” 

“ But when shall we get there, Tom? We are not 
even going in the right direction yet.” 

“Don’t you worry about that, Jack. Richard re- 
lieves the Captain to-night, and when you awake to- 
morrow morning we shall be heading as straight for 
that island as other islands in the way will allow.” 

At that moment Ah Sing appeared beside them, all 
smiles. “You gen’lemen my bosses?” he asked. 

“ Yes, Ah Sing, we are,” answered Tom. “ What 
is troubling you ? Are you sea-sick ? ” 

The Cinderella was rolling dreadfully, and there was 
some reason for Tom’s remark, but Ah Sing answered: 
“ No, sa,’ cook want know wa’ time dinnel is wanted.” 

“ Oh, any time. We are all hungry now.” 

“ Then dinnel will be eeady in ten minutes, sa’. Will 
I ling gong?” 

“ All right, Ah Sing. I don’t know how you’ve 
managed it, but tell the steward and we’ll be there.” 

They went on deck. It was now dark, and a storm 
seemed working up. All land was out of sight, and 
the Cinderella still pounded on her way east-nor’-east. 
Suddenly Ah Sing rang a gong he had found some- 
where, and leaving the bridge to Stansbury the Captain 
adjourned with Tom, Richard, and Jack to what their 
Chinese cook had prepared for them. 

To say the least of it, they were surprised, and Ko- 
tay’s attendance was perfect. No trace of haste or hurry 
in the preparation of the meal was evident anywhere, 
and as Kotay glided noiselessly from the saloon to the 
galley the boys realised that they had acquired at least 
two good servants. 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 93 

After the first detachment had finished dinner, Tom 
relieved Powell, and he and Stansbury and Thomson 
dined, and then all settled down to dividing their duties 
in the best way they could. Stansbury relieved Captain 
Inglis at midnight, and at four in the morning Richard 
took his place. At eight, the Captain stepped on to the 
bridge and took the wheel from Richard ; but the latter 
seemed in no hurry to leave, and continued chatting with 
the Captain 'until Tom came up and joined them. The 
swell had now subsided. 

“ Captain Inglis,” said Tom, after exchanging cour- 
tesies, “ have you ever been among the Solomon Is- 
lands? ” 

The Captain looked at Tom. “Yes,” he answered; 
“ I know them fairly well.” 

“ They lie away to the north, I see by the chart.” 

“Yes; about a week’s journey for the Cinderella. 
We’ll be among the Fijis in about the same time. I 
suppose you have some work on hand there ? ” 

“ Do you know, Captain, I have an impression that 
we won’t see any of the Fiji Islands this trip.” 

Both Tom and Richard watched the Captain closely 
to see the effect of Tom’s words, but there was none. 

“ I have that impression myself,” he remarked casu- 
ally. “ But we’ll beach this craft on the south corner of 
Viti Levu, the largest island in the group, if we keep 
her head as it is now.” 

“ Then suppose you alter the course, Captain.” 

“ I am under your orders, sir.” 

“ Well, a northerly course would fit in more with 
our ideas. I should like to see the Solomons.” 

The Captain flung the wheel round, and the ship 
staggered as if from a mighty blow, and trembled for a 


94 


The Pearl Seekers 


minute as if considering whether to overturn or break 
in two. But she did neither, and pointing over the stern 
to the circling track of white foam, the Captain said: 
“ Our course is now north by two degrees east, and 
you’ll see the Solomons a week to-day.” 

“ Thank you, Captain,” responded Tom in a relieved 
voice. “We feared, you might object to altering the 
course.” 

“Yes, I saw that; and you came up here to depose 
me if I did, and my chief officer remained to take my 
place.” The Captain spoke drily. 

“ Not quite all that,” said Tom. “ You know, we 
really have an object in view.” 

“ Then if you would give me the position of the spot 
you wish to get to, it would help your getting there con- 
siderably.” 

“ We will. It is one hundred and fifty-eight degrees 
five minutes east longitude, and four degrees two min- 
utes three seconds south of the line.” 

“ That is farther north than the Solomons extend. 
In fact it is in the Prince Bismarck group.” 

“ But you are with us, Captain ? There is an island 
there that we very much want to see.” 

“ If it is above water, you will see it,” said the Cap- 
tain grimly. “ But may I ask why you didn’t take that 
quick-firer with you ? ” 

“ We didn’t think we should require it. Our mission 
is peaceful.” 

“ But it happens to be German territory, and their 
gunboats have a habit of using all poaching craft for 
target practice.” 

The boys’ faces fell, and for the first time Tom 
felt a pang of disappointment. But it was not on ac- 


‘Cinderella’ Clears Sydney Heads 95 

count of the island being German that Tom was troubled 
chiefly : it was because his great system had received a 
check. He had not anticipated the fact that the island 
might belong to any Power, and the whole secret of 
their successes had hitherto depended on his wonderful 
foresight and calculation. 

Just then Ah Sing sounded his gong, and the Cap- 
tain said kindly : “ Go and get breakfast, boys. The Ger- 
mans have really no right to the ocean, and that is all 
that is there — if your positions are correct.” 

“ They are correct,” said Tom. “ We mean to work 
the pearl shell deposits.” 

“ And we shall, boy,” cried the Captain. “ You 
lifted the Cinderella , and by Jupiter we’ll lift the island 
too, if it has gone down. As for . the Germans, well, 
we’ll deal with them when they arrive.” 

The boys went in to breakfast, and Thomson, who 
had just come off all-night duty, joined them with Jack 
and Stansbury. Meanwhile the Cinderella was speeding 
northwards on her new course. 


CHAPTER V 


158° 5 X by 4 0 2' 2" 

All day the Cinderella held on her northward course, 
Thomson and Powell relieving each other in the engine- 
room, and all other watches being kept as they would 
be on any fully manned steamer. They were far to the 
east of the usual Queensland coastal traffic, and there- 
fore saw no vessels. By Sunday night Jack and Tom 
had gained experience enough in the engine-room under 
Thomson and Powell to be able to take on the regula- 
tion four-hours watch between them, and after that the 
usual four hours on and eight off duty was general 
throughout the ship, excepting the case of Kotay, the 
steward, and Ah Sing, the cook. 

On Monday morning a large steamer appeared on 
their starboard bow, and on sighting it Captain Inglis 
swung the Cinderella round to an easterly course. 
“ That is the new turbine steamer Malireno” he said. 
“ She is on the all red route between Australia and 
Canada, and can give a present of three or four knots 
to anything else in the Pacific.” 

“But why have you altered our course, Captain?” 
asked Tom, who had just come out of the engine-room. 

“ Because she’ll get into Brisbane this afternoon and 
will report having passed the Cinderella. Now I cal- 
culate, young man, that there are some people in Aus- 
tralia just now who would give a good lot to know 
96 


*5 8° 5 / by 4° 2' 3" 


97 


where this craft is heading for, and I also fancy that 
my Directors would much rather that these people did 
not know.” 

“ You are right, Captain ; but won’t we be reported 
just the same?” 

“ As sure as Australia is the greatest country in this 
little planet; for we’ll speak her shortly, and she’ll re- 
port us bound for New Caledonia, or the Fijis, all well, 
and you can bet all the pearl shell we’re going to get 
that Penfold will, spread that information, and a lot 
more, the breadth of Australia. You might go and tell 
Stansbury to run up : ‘ Owners on board — please re- 
port.’ She’ll read our name for herself.” 

Tom departed to rouse Stansbury from his slumbers, 
but met Richard rushing on deck. His quick ear had 
detected the peculiar swish of the waters and the altera- 
tion in the hum of the engines consequent upon the 
changing of the course. “What’s wrong?” he cried. 
“Why have we swung round?” 

Tom told him, and pointed out the swift Mahreno 
rushing towards them from the nor’-east. 

“ What ! Is that the Mahreno ? ” cried Richard ex- 
citedly. “ I should like to speak to her.” 

“ I was just going to awaken Stansbury to do so.” 

“ I’ll do it. I think I know the signalling officer on 
board the Canadian flier; and if so, I want to ask a 
question which perhaps should not be known on board 
the Cinderella any more than need be.” 

“ I didn’t know you were skilled in the art of sig- 
nalling, Richard,” said Tom somewhat surprised. “ You 
seem to know everything. Certainly, say what you wish. 
You are one of ourselves, and know how we stand.” 

“ Stand by then, Tom, and give a hand,” said Rich- 

(b 761) H 


98 


The Pearl Seekers 


ard, running to the flag-locker and returning with an 
armful of flags which he at once began to attach to the 
halyards. 

“ The skipper won’t know what I am saying even 
with his code-book,” he laughed, “ and anyhow I have 
hidden it behind the locker. Haul away, Tom. That 
spells ‘ report.’ ” 

Tom sent the fluttering signals to the mast-head, and 
a minute later the other vessel acknowledged it. 

“ Run up these three now, Tom, the blue one on 
top. That reads a bit silly if my friend has been trans- 
ferred.” Again the flags opened out in the morning 
breeze. 

“ I say, youngsters, what in blazes do you mean by 
that meaningless string of flags ? ” cried Captain Inglis 
from the bridge. “ They’ll think I’ve lost my head.” 

“ I beg pardon, sir,” said Richard, “ it is quite cor- 
rect according to the code-book.” 

“.Correct be blowed ! Do you think I can’t read 
that without the book in my hand? Down with them 
at once. What in old Neptune’s name do you mean by 
asking the crack steamer of the Pacific, ‘ Is all right on 
board?’ Thunder! they’re answering. I am dashed 
if I know what ” 

On the mast-head of the mail steamer, now almost 
abeam, two pennons unfolded bearing respectively the 
letters I and R, and underneath the usual signal, “ Who 
are you?” 

“ Up with that string, Tom,” cried Richard. 
“Wright is signalling himself. Now hoist these. Ah! 
Down with the first lot. Run these up now. Good. 
Now, dip him good-bye.” 

With a graceful dip the big steamer responded, while 


99 


1 5 8“ 5' by 4 “ 2' 3" 

at her mast-head also flew a long line of signals, which, 
as the distance between the vessels became greater, were 
replaced by one flag, which remained until the steamers 
were hull down on the horizon. Before this, however, 
Tom and Richard were confronted by the angry Cap- 
tain. 

“ What is the meaning of this ? ” he demanded. “ Am 

I Captain of this ship or not? And if not, then ” 

“ Don’t say anything nasty yet, Captain,” said Rich- 
ard. “ I am only one of your officers, and unless Tom 
clears me when you both hear my story, then you can do 
with me as you please.” 

“ Do with you as I please ! I’ll — I’ll ” 

“ Indeed, Captain, I don’t think you’ll do anything, 
martinet and all as you are,” said Richard. “ Listen, 
and I will explain my seemingly strange conduct. The 
signals exchanged between us just now were, after the 
first one requesting them to report us, private; that is, 
they were unintelligible to every one but the officer on 
the other ship and myself. A year ago a schoolmate 
of mine became one of the junior officers on that ship, 
and he sent me some information which surprised me, 
to say the least of it. He and I had made a hobby of 
signalling while at school, for my father owned a fa- 
mous steam yacht, and we both hoped to sail on her 
professionally some day. He had become signalling 
officer before I left England, although I believe he only 
ranks as fourth, and so when I saw his ship bearing 
down upon us I could not resist sending him some mes- 
sages in our own old code, and ” 

“ Say no more, my boy,” interrupted the Captain. 
“ I don’t want to put a finger into any man’s pie, and 
you have explained to my satisfaction. I was especially 


100 


The Pearl Seekers 


riled because I fancy myself an adept at signalling, and 
I couldn’t make out what you meant by asking them, 
‘ Is all right on board ? ’ ” 

“ Oh, I can tell you that much, Captain. My friend’s 
name is Alfred Wright, and when he responded with 
‘ I are/ I knew it was my old schoolmate who answered 
me, even although the grammar was atrocious ” 

“ Don’t tell me another word then until you have 
talked things over with the Chairman of Directors,” said 
the Captain, going on to the bridge again ; “ and if you 
think it doesn’t concern me, well. — it doesn’t.” 

“ Captain Inglis is a thorough gentleman, Tom,” said 
Richard, gazing after him admiringly. “ Come aft until 
I explain some things to you, and then we can decide 
upon whether or not we shall take the Captain into our 
confidence.” 

“ But why should there be so much mystery, Rich- 
ard? We are well able to take care of ourselves, and 
we are breaking no laws.” 

“ Not yet, partner ; but let me tell you a bit of a 
story, and then some things that are puzzling you just 
now will be made clear.” 

“ Go ahead, then ; but remember I do not wish to 
know what you would prefer to keep to yourself.” 

“ I will tell you everything, Tom, and, like Thomson, 
Powell, and Davis, trust to you to bring things right. 
My father was sole owner of the City Iron Works in 
Worchester, and my sister Flora and I were brought up 
amidst all the luxury and refinement that wealth could 
provide. When I grew old enough to have some sense, 
I began to take an interest in the works, and soon knew 
as much as any one about the production of the various 
kinds of iron and steel. Then my father resolved to 


* 5 %° 5 ' by 4° 2 / 3 " 


IOI 


take a cruise round the world in his new steam yacht, 
and leaving my uncle in charge, with me as assistant 
manager, he and my sister sailed away. We heard from 
them regularly from the various ports they touched for 
some time, but since they left Cooktown in Queensland 
for a cruise among the islands of the Pacific we have 
heard nothing, and that is four years ago now. But 
what is the matter, Tom? Your face is white.” 

“ To be accurate, Richard, the postmark on your 
last letter from Cooktown is September twenty- 
first ?” 

“Why yes, Tom. How did you know?” 

“ Because I also received my last letter from my 
father from Cooktown on that date. He was captain 
of the Southern Cross ” 

“My father’s yacht!” 

“ I presume so. His letter to me from 158° 5' east 
and 4 0 2' 3" south, which was picked up in a bottle and 
forwarded to me from Auckland in New Zealand, was 
dated three weeks later. 

“Then, Tom, our cause is common; we are each 
looking for our people.” 

“ In a way, yes, but I have little hope of finding 
them on the island indicated; because if they had been 
shipwrecked there the letter would have said so, instead 
of merely giving the information that great pearl shell 
deposits existed.” 

“ Then let me add my knowledge to yours and see 
what the result is,” cried Richard. “Just about the 
time I received my last letter my friend, Alf Wright, 
became one of the junior officers on the Canadian- Aus- 
tralian line of steamers, and on his second run between 
Sydney and Vancouver his ship picked up some people 


102 


The Pearl Seekers 


drifting about the ocean on a patent collapsible craft 
bearing the name Southern Cross. They said they had 
encountered a typhoon in which the yacht foundered, 
and they were carried to Canada, whence they proceeded 
to Britain. But my friend was not satisfied. He could 
not get any clear account of how the owner and captain 
were lost, and was struck with the fact that the cast- 
aways appeared to be confused when he casually ques- 
tioned them, and gave entirely different accounts of the 
accident. Of course he did not let them know that he 
was a friend of the son of the owner, and knowing him- 
self that my father had last been heard of from Cook- 
town in Australia, he naturally wondered what the yacht 
had been doing meanwhile among the islands. However, 
to cut the story short, his suspicions were aroused, and 
he kept a strict watch on the shipwrecked party, and 
was rewarded one night by overhearing a quarrel be- 
tween him who had been the chief officer and the indi- 
vidual who had been second engineer. Evidently the 
engineer was reproaching the officer for having lost 
some chart, and the other was defending himself by 
saying that he had committed the position required to 
memory. The position he gave was 158° 5' longitude, 
but my friend did not catch the latitude. Next day he 
asked the engineer in a general conversation how they 
had lost their chief engineer, and was told that he had 
been in the same boat as the skipper, and they had not 
seen them since. He then inquired casually of the first 
officer what passage they had taken through the Bar- 
rier Reef from Cooktown, and was informed that they 
had not been at Cooktown. By the time they had ar- 
rived at the Canadian terminal port, his suspicions were 
stronger than ever, and he wrote me in effect what I 


*58° 5 ' b y 4° 7 >" 


103 


have just told you. Since then I have received further 
proof that something occurred among the islands we are 
going to that required investigation, and when I tell you 
that the person who stole your chart that night when I 
became your fifth partner was the chief officer of the 
Southern Cross, I am sure you will agree with me. Here 
is his photograph. Wright took a snapshot of the ship- 
wrecked group. That is our first visitor in the middle.” 

Tom silently took the photograph from his partner’s 
hand and examined it carefully. “ You are quite right,” 
he said. “ That is the person who stole our chart, and 
this is Slippery Charlie in the garb of the second en- 
gineer, and here is the man who broke through our 
window ; apparently he was a fireman. I don’t know the 
others.” 

“ Well, what do you make of it? ” 

“ That we have more work to do than raise pearl 
shell, and that we have powerful and unscrupulous ene- 
mies, who doubtless are even now on our tracks.” 

“ Which means that you think there was foul play 
of some kind?” 

“ It looks like that ; but I would rather wait until 
we get to our island before expressing an opinion. You 
see, we dare not allow ourselves to become excited. The 
success of our expedition depends on the coolness of 
our heads and the unwavering nature of our nerves. 
If we keep heads and nerves in order we are more than 
a match for any combination of enemies.” 

“ Very well, Tom, I believe we are, so long as you 
are directing us,” said Richard. “ Now just let me 
explain the signals Wright and I exchanged, and you 
will know everything. I of course wrote him that I 
was leaving England for the South Seas when we left, 


104 


The Pearl Seekers 


but he must have been surprised to find me here so 
soon. Well, anyhow, I told him just now I was looking 
for my father, and he replied, ‘ Go north,’ and then 
added a message which read : ‘ Beware of others. Mem- 
bers of old crew crossed by preceding steamer.’ I then 
answered that we were bound north, but wished to be 
reported officially as we were heading. He replied that 
he understood, and wished us good luck. Then when 
I signalled good-bye he flew the message which we saw 
last. It read : ‘ German cruiser doing patrol duty.’ And 
now you know all that I know, although I don’t suppose 
any of us understands the meaning of the last signal.” 

“ I suppose we’ll know in time,” said Tom. “ But it 
seems to me that your friend meant you to take note of 
the fact— evidently he deemed it an important one.” 

“ Ah, well, you are Director-in-Chief, so give your 
orders freely.” 

“ Then turn in and get some sleep ; you’ve been up 
all night, and we can’t afford to have ourselves handi- 
capped in any way. We’ll say nothing about our pri- 
vate affairs to the others just now, and let the chief end 
of our expedition be the mysterious island.” 

“As you think best,” said Richard, going below. 
“ Your interests and mine are the same.” 

“ The day wore on, and the gallant craft, back on 
her original course, sped northwards. The sea was now 
as smooth as an island lake, and when night fell the 
foam rushing from the yacht’s bows glowed with phos- 
phorescent fire. 

On Tuesday morning there was a marked difference 
in the temperature, and all not otherwise engaged as- 
sisted in erecting awnings to shelter the decks from the 
increasing heat of the sun. At noon that day they 


crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and far away on their 
port a shimmering line of surf indicated the farthest 
outflung strands of the Great Barrier Reef. 

“We are in the tropics now, boys,” announced Cap- 
tain Inglis, as he finished taking the sun’s altitude and 
satisfied himself that the 23 0 30' parallel had been left 
behind. “ If our engineers can keep up the present 
speed, each day will see us five degrees farther north, 
and we’ll be threading the Solomon channels next Sun- 
day.” 

“ The engineers will do their part,” said Thomson 
quietly ; “ but if it is going to be much hotter than this, 
we’ll have to invent and build a refrigerator.” 

“ We’ll get plenty of cool sea-bathing, David,” said 
Jack, “when we begin diving for pearls; and just 
imagine lying under shady palm trees eating cocoa- 
nuts ! ” 

“ Wha’ fo’ you no come along o’ tuckel ? ” inter- 
rupted Ah Sing, coming out on deck. “ Me ling gong 
two time alleady.” 

“ Give it another hammering, Ah Sing,” advised the 
Captain, “ and we’ll be there before any damage is 
done.” 

Ah Sing obeyed, and all not on duty went into the 
dining-saloon. 

Next morning, at daybreak, the sea extended un- 
brokenly as far as they could see, and as the sun crawled 
up the sky the heat became intense. In the afternoon 
little patches of glistening surf began to appear around 
them, and they knew they had reached the zone of coral 
islands. At night the sea seemed blazing with phos- 
phorescent flashes, and a delightfully cool and refresh- 
ing breeze sprang up. 


io6 The Pearl Seekers 

Thursday morning found them on the fifteenth par- 
allel, and night closed in as they touched the twelfth. 
And so the time passed. On Friday afternoon a low- 
lying tree-clad island appeared on their starboard, and 
as they drew nearer the boys could hear the roar of the 
surf breaking on its gleaming white beach. 

“ Behold the outpost of the Solomon group,” said the 
Captain. “That is Rennell Island, and just out of sight 
on our port is the farthest east bit of land belonging to 
the Louisiade Archipelago. In an hour we’ll be among 
the coral atolls, and if you boys weren’t so built up in 
your own plans I might have advised you to pay some 
of them a visit, for the lagoons inside one or two that 
I have seen are simply paved with pearl shell.” 

“ We’ll come back later, Captain,” said Tom, “ but 
it is our own island we want first.” 

“ Oh, it’s your picnic, sir. I wouldn’t take in hand 
to advise you partners for all the gold in Mount Mor- 
gan. I suppose you’ll be intending to tow your island 
over into British waters ? ” 

“ What ! How can we tow an island ? ” 

“Oh, I don’t know, but you fel’ " seem able to 
do anything. I am about to alter our course now to 
get through these itolls looming ahead. There is no 
charted passage , through until w'e reach the Florida 
Chanel in the Solomons, so I will keep the wheel my- 
self all night. See, there is a big island ahead now ; 
there are thousands of uncharted coral patches all round 
it.” 

“ Then, sir, is it safe going ahead through the 
night?” 

“ Well, it is not a thing I would advise, unless you 
were heavily insured, under ordinary circumstances; but 


i oy 


1 5 8“ 5' by 4“ 2/ 3 " 

I know the water is deep close in to that hill rising 
in front, and if we can get through the atolls to it before 
dark I think I can navigate ” 

“ Why, the sea is covered with islands straight 
ahead,” cried Powell, coming on deck. “ What a pic- 
ture ! What a study in colour!” 

“Yes,” agreed the Captain; “they are very fine. 
You can rent a dozen or so if you like at your own 
figure. The British Government will let them cheap.” 

It was indeed a beautiful piece of colouring that now 
opened in front. The ocean was a mass of gorgeous 
tints, and at first sight it was not an easy matter to 
determine the reason. It soon became apparent, how- 
ever, that it was the profusion of coral-beached islands 
that gave to the scene its vivid colour. The islands were 
scattered everywhere, some extending to a diameter of 
three miles and others to about two hundred yards. 
Nearly all were covered with palm trees, and in some 
cases the waters of great lagoons could be seen shining 
through their feathery fronds. The water was intensely 
blue, the beaches of the islands were pink and white, 
and dazzling clouds of yeasty foam marked where the 
gentle Pacific swell broke upon them. It seemed a hope- 
less task to attempt to take a boat through them towards 
the towering peak that filled the distanCbackground, but 
Captain Inglis did not hesitate. 

“ We’ve got an hour of sunlight yet,” ^ said, “ and 
that should about see us safe. Some of you extraor- 
dinary lads might go on to the forecastle and act as look- 
outs. Shout out when the water is green ahead.” 

Tom and Jack hastened to comply with the Captain’s 
request, and for the next hour the Cinderella zig-zagged 
among the maze of the islets wherever a waterway 


108 The Pearl Seekers 

showed clear. The mountain island grew nearer, and 
its dark, precipitous slopes stood out boldly in the fast- 
failing sunlight. 

“Hadn’t we better anchor until morning, Captain?” 
Tom shouted from the forecastle. “ The water is very 
shallow now. I can see the bottom.” 

“ Never mind that,” returned the Captain. “ The 
bottom is a good ten fathoms down at least, and we’ll 
be through the ring directly.” 

And they were. Suddenly the ocean stretched away 
in front of the Cinderella's bows, sullen and unbroken, 
until lost in the darkening shadows at the base of the 
mountain. 

“ Full speed ahead,” rang the engine-room bell, and 
the yacht shot forward once more. 

“ Well, boys,” said Inglis, signing to Stansbury to 
take the wheel and coming down on deck, “ I don’t like 
to blow my own horn, but I don’t think there is another 
skipper anywhere around the South Seas who could have 
taken this craft through these mud-banks.” 

“Mud-banks, Captain? I know you did wonderful 
work in forcing a passage through these islands, but I 
did not know they were mud-banks.” 

“ That is only a figure of speech, my boy. They 
were all coral islands, and any one of them would keep 
the inhabitants of a fair-sized town in life with only 
about an hour’s work from every man per day.” 

“ Then why do the Governments not send their sur- 
plus population here?” asked Jack, who with Tom had 
now joined the Captain on the midship deck. 

“ I don’t know. I suppose no people would come 
unless saloon steamers brought them, and a first-class 
mail ran to and from London twice a week. Some day 


158° 5' by 4° 2' 3" 


109 


there will be a mighty empire among these islands of 
the south, but as it won’t be in our time it doesn’t matter 
to us. I suppose you boys know everything ? ” 

“ Oh dear no,” answered Tom. “ We know almost' 
nothing compared with what might be known. We have 
had no chance of acquiring any knowledge of the South 
Seas, for instance.” 

“ Just what I was going to talk about, for if you 
took away from me the little I do know of the Pacific, 
you would leave my mind like a duffered gold-mine — 
that is, barren.” 

“ Fire away then, Captain,” said Richard. “ Tell us 
something special about the South Seas. We’ve all got 
plenty of room for knowledge.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know that I can tell you anything that 
some other people could not tell you just as well, but I 
have one or two ideas of my own about things which 
may be new to you. Now, would you believe that if 
the water were to be run off this part of the world you 
would see thousands of church spires and big walls 
rising from their base — I mean, of course, rocks like 
spires of a church.” 

“ Is that so, Captain ? Then navigation must be 
dangerous around here,” said Tom. “ Or perhaps they 
do not come up to near the surface ? ” 

“ Some come above the surface, and a good bit 
more. Those are what the various European Govern- 
ments squabble over. The Solomons, New Hebrides, 
Fijis, New Caledonia, Gilbert, Caroline, Friendly, and 
hundreds of other groups contain some very large is- 
lands, rising to thousands of feet above sea-level; but 
round them are myriads of smaller spires which don’t 
get their tops out of water at all, although some come 


no 


The Pearl Seekers 


within a few feet of doing so. We could not sail in 
these waters without scraping the paint off or knocking 
a hole in the bottom of our craft, were it not that the 
coral insect or animal, puts a sort of fence round the 
sunken spires, and builds and builds straight up until the 
wall reaches the top. That is why most coral islands 
have a lagoon in their midst, but you may bet that if 
you went diving you would hit the top of the spire be- 
fore you went down far. It’s on these coral beds that 
the pearl oyster seems to thrive, and a crowd like this 
could make a fortune on almost any of those islands 
we’ve passed. But there’s mighty deep water now right 
up to the base of that mountain ahead. That is the king 
of all around here, and it will be some time before the 
coral band rising from its base gets above water — unless 
those we’ve come through really belong to its branch 
spires.” 

“ What is the name of this big island, Captain ? ” 
Tom asked. “ It is not named on our chart, and it must 
be at least fifty miles long.” 

“ Guadalcanar is the only name I know it by. It 
is about fifty-eight miles long by sixteen across, and 
the mountain itself is about eight thousand feet high. 
It is inhabited by the mo. ferocious savages in the 
South Seas, and the people a ' ° live in the mountains 
have no dealings with those 01. *.***. -, except perhaps 

at meal times, when the on" eat the other. — Ah! 
Did you see that, boys? Out with all your lights at 
once. There is some craft lying inshore there, and the 
less they know of us the better.” 

Richard sprang to the switchboard, and instantly all 
was in darkness, the sun having gone down while the 
Captain was discoursing. At the same moment the Cap- 


i 5 8° 5' by 4° 2 / 3" 


I I I 


tain cried to Stansbury on the bridge to telegraph half- 
speed to the engine-room, and once more the Cinderella 
slowed perceptibly in her onward, course. 

No one needed to ask any questions. Far ahead, in 
the gloom at the base of the mountain, the lights of a 
ship at anchor had just become visible; and as they 
were far from the beaten track of commerce, it followed 
that the other ship could not be engaged in ordinary 
trade. 

“ Has she seen us, do you think, Richard ? ” asked 
Tom anxiously. 

“ No, I don’t think so, or she would not have lit up 
when she did.” 

“ Then you think she does not wish to be seen any 
more than we do ? ” 

“ Well, Tom, I calculate it is just about time our 
enemies were putting in an appearance, otherwise they 
are not gifted with even ordinary intelligence. We have 
succeeded so far without the slightest set-back, and ” 

“ I know, Richard, I have been waiting on some- 
thing too. We couldn’t expect to get a free run to our 
island in face of what we now know.” 

“I am bothered if I can make out that craft at all,” 
said Captain Inglis, joining - them again. Jack, mean- 
while, had gone into tftw engine-room to explain the 
reason of the slowing down to Thomson. “ She is not 
a gunboat, because all the British squadron were in Syd- 
ney Harbour when we loft, and the Germans have no 
right here.” ► 

“ Can’t she be a trader, Captain ? ” asked Richard. 

“ There’s nothing to trade in there but cannibals,” 
answered the Captain. “ No, she isn’t trading, because 
she is a long way off the land. What beats me is why 


I 12 


The Pearl Seekers 


she is lying at the entrance to Florida Sound, the only 
channel between this island and Russel Island, through 
which we must pass too to get through the Solomon 
group.” 

“ She may be waiting for some other vessel,” sug- 
gested Tom. 

The Captain turned, and although it was dark Tom 
knew he was looking at him. “ I guess you are right,” 
he said. “ She’s waiting for some other craft ; but she 
didn’t leave Sydney after we left, and her owners evi- 
dently know that they are watching the only channel 
leading north too.” 

“ Can we not get past then? ” inquired Tom. 

“ Oh, I don’t know about that. The whole question 
hangs on whether you care much whether they see you 
or not. They can’t stop us from passing, nor can they 
even follow us if they try. But see here, boys, why are 
you afraid now? I ordered the lights to be put out 
because I guessed you would want that; but we’re in 
British waters yet, and I don’t quite see how you need 
to care who sees us so long as it isn’t a spying gunboat 
or some craft able to follow us.” 

“ Nevertheless, Captain, we would rather get past 
unobserved,” said Tom. “ We have enemies who are 
well acquainted with the South Seas, and whose inter- 
est, it appears, is to watch us. We do not know that 
this ship belongs to them, but, on your own showing, 
she is not a trader, neither is she a gunboat, and she is 
lying in the last place in the world where any pirate 
vessel would anchor, to say nothing of the fact that she 
commands the only channel through the Solomon Is- 
lands. I may say, too, that the officer on board the 
Mahreno , who is a friend of ours, signalled that those 


whom we have reason to fear are in this part of the 
world. So now you know everything. What do you 
advise? ” 

“Why are they your enemies ?” 

“ Because we alone have the information as to where 
this pearl island lies, and somehow they fancy they have 
a claim to it. They tried hard to obtain our secrets be- 
fore we left England, but we beat them, and I fully 
expect them to make some great efforts yet to get the 
better of us.” 

“I see. Is that all you know?” 

“ It’s all that we partners know, although Richard 
and I have a suspicion that the people who are follow- 
ing us were also concerned in the disappearance of our 
parents. Our comrades know nothing of that however, 
and we should not tell you, were it not that, we believe 
you are our friend, and might be able to help us should 
events transpire that will occasion the need of assist- 
ance.” 

“ You can trust me straight through, boys, and I 
would just like to see the people who can run against 
our combination. But, now that I remember, the people 
who owned the Cinderella were very bitter against you 
fellows, and the fact that you raised the boat cannot 
be the entire reason, for they were the instigators of 
the attempt to keep you from leaving Sydney.” 

“ We don’t know them, Captain. They naturally 
would feel aggrieved.” 

“ Yes’ but, by the Great Darling River, that wouldn’t 
make them try to keep you in Sydney. There must 
have been something behind it all, for their business 
ought to have been to get you away from port at once. 
The insurance people were saying nasty things, you 

(b 761) I 


The Pearl Seekers 


114 

know, and they were in an awkward position with the 
Cinderella floating dry and in first-class condition with- 
out any repairs having been made. No, boys, before 
they would count all the consequences of having duped 
the insurance companies, which the Cinderella herself 
proves they did, there must have been other reasons 
which you do not know. At anyrate, Penfold told me 
a queer yarn before we sailed, and although I only 
laughed at it then as an attempt to work up a sensa- 
tional newspaper article, I think now that he had got 
hold of something. But excuse me, boys, I am forget- 
ing we have to run the blockade.” The Captain went 
on the bridge and gave some instructions to Stansbury, 
and then rejoined Tom and Richard. 

The Cinderella had now crept up quite close to the 
other ship, but they could form no opinion as to her 
size, as she carried no riding or stern lights, and only 
the cabin port-hole illuminations were visible. The night 
was very dark, not a breath of air was in motion, and 
not a sound save the gentle swish of the waters broke 
the stillness. The dark timber-clad mountain range rose 
straight from the ocean right ahead, its form only dis- 
cernible on the sky-line. 

“Boys,” said the Captain, “I am going to try and 
run through without being seen, but I fancy no other 
skipper would tackle the job as I mean to do it. Don’t 
speak a word, for the air carries sound in a remarkable 
manner up here. We must pass within a hundred yards 
of that craft to reach Indispensable Strait, the channel 
leading to Russel and Malanta Island, so go round and 
tell every man to be as silent as a mummy.” 

“ But won’t they hear the beat of the engines ? ” 
cried Tom. 


I5 8 ° s ' b y 4° 2 7 3 " 1 15 

“No; go down in the first place and instruct the 
engineer on duty to stop her dead, and stand by ready 
for a sudden call. We’re near the current of the chan- 
nel now and with the headway we’ve on we should just 
catch it. Go now.” 

Tom ran below and delivered the order to Thomson, 
who had been informed by Jack as to what was taking 
place, and for the first time since leaving Sydney the 
engines of the gallant little vessel stopped. 

Richard had meanwhile explained to the crew the 
necessity for complete silence, and then with Stansbury 
had gone on the forecastle to peer into the darkness, 
the Captain himself having taken charge on the bridge. 
So the Cinderella drifted onwards with all lights extin- 
guished, and not a sound heralded her approach. Soon 
the form of the other vessel could be made out by her 
own lights. She was considerably larger than the Cin- 
derella , and looked a very fine ship indeed. 

“ They are lying in the very middle of the passage,” 
Captain Inglis whispered to Tom, who stood with him on 
the bridge. “ What in thunder is their game, anyhow? ” 

Slowly the Cinderella felt her way on until it seemed 
as if she must ram the other craft amidship. Then Inglis 
silently swung her around, she had just sufficient steer- 
ing way and little more, and she drifted parallel to the 
mysterious steamer only half a cable’s length off. 

Some one was playing a banjo on the deck of the 
other vessel, and evidently several people were sitting 
near the player in their deck-chairs enjoying the refresh- 
ing coolness of the night air, for the aroma of their ci- 
gars was borne across to the Cinderella and caused Cap- 
tain Inglis to have a strong desire for a smoke himself. 
Again the Cinderella began to move forward, but her 


The Pearl Seekers 

momentum was now spent, and her motion was almost 
imperceptible. 

“ I am almost tempted to ring down ‘ Full speed/ ” 
whispered the Captain. “ If that really is your friend’s 
ship, they’ve lost us already, for they can’t stop us now 

” He ceased abruptly. Some one had spoken on 

the other deck and the music stopped. 

“ Did you hear anything? ” a voice said in the silence 
which followed. 

“ No, there’s nothing to hear. Those infernal brats 
have spoiled your nerves, Charlie. Go and have a 
whisky and soda,” another voice replied, and the listen- 
ers waited breathlessly for further conversation. 

“ By Jupiter ! ” the first speaker resumed, “ if you 
had been caught on a draftboard-like affair as they got 
me, and felt the needles running through you, and 
couldn’t move to save yourself, even when you saw the 
police coming, you might get the accursed beggars on 
your nerves too.” 

“Ha! ha! That was as good a joke as ever came 
my way. It tickles me altogether to imagine the fa- 
mous — I beg pardon, I mean notorious — Slippery Charlie 
trapped by a few boys,” 

“Oh, that’s all right, I’ll get even with them yet. 
But you know the Cinderella's speed. When could they 
get here ? ” 

“ Not before to-morrow at the very earliest, and that 
is nQt allowing for her being handled by boys, with a 
cashiered skipper like Inglis in charge. I got the wire 
at Cooktown on Saturday morning, and ours is no slow 
craft, and as we know the position is one fifty-eight 
something, and that they must come this way to get there 
from Sydney, well, here we are waiting for them, and if 


1 17 


i 5 8° 5' by 4° 2' 3 " 

we could only make sure of the business I would recom- 
mend going for them all, and sinking the Cinderella 
where even their patent diving dress can’t lift her. 
We’re not the Twentieth Century Adventurers Unlim- 
ited if we don’t either kill those boys or make an alliance 
with them. They are too smart by a long way.” 

“ What about old Preston and Grenville ? ” the other 
voice put in; but the Cinderella had now drifted out of 
hearing distance, and neither Tom nor Richard heard 
the reply. 

“ Pray that that star over next Sirius has not taken 
a fit and shifted, boy,” said Captain Inglis in Tom’s ear; 
“ we are in the channel now, drifting with the current, 
and that star is our only guide.” He swung the Cin- 
derella in behind the other craft and she drifted on. 
Five minutes later Stansbury came aft and reported that 
the channel lay clear ahead, and the Captain touched the 
engine-room telegraph. In response a gentle thud, and 
then another and another followed, and the Cinderella 
was again under way at half speed. 

Soon the Captain threw the wheel hard round and 
a bluff hid the other vessel from view. “ Come here, 
Stansbury,” he then called. “ Our course is north to 
Malayta, thence west to one fifty-eight, five, and then 
call me.” 

Stansbury took the wheel, and turning to Powell, who 
was just going on duty, and the other boys, the Cap- 
tain said : “ Well, lads, the infernal brats and the cash- 
iered skipper Inglis have scored on the gang after all. 
Let us go and have our dinner now. I am hungry, and 
I am sure you must all be the same. Let her go now, 
Stansbury.” 

Stansbury gripped the telegraph handle and the bell 


The Pearl Seekers 


1 1 8 

in the engine-room clanged out, “ Full speed ahead.” 
Thomson was waiting for the signal, and, as cool as 
his countrymen have always been in the engine-room, 
he threw open the steam valves, and the Cinderella 
leaped forward into the darkness. Tom then switched 
on the lights, and all not on duty went in to dinner. 

All night long the Cinderella sped through the dark- 
ness, and a careful watch was kept to see if the strange 
ship were following. But there were no signs of her, 
and when morning came the partners found themselves 
sailing between two large islands which rose very high 
out of the water and whose slopes were covered with 
luxuriant vegetation from shore to summit. 

“ When we round that point on our starboard we 
shall have said good-bye to the ocean ruled by the flag 
that braved a thousand years,” said Captain Inglis, who 
had been on the bridge all night. “ That big chunk 
of land on our port belongs to Kaiser Bill. It is about 
a hundred miles in length, about an average of fifteen 
in breadth, and about a mile and a half high in the 
middle. What Germany does with it no one knows, and 
what is hidden in those deep gullies and in those moun- 
tains I don’t suppose will ever be known until Britain 
gets hold of the group; then the gold prospector from 
Australia and New Zealand will dance over every foot 
of it.” 

At one o’clock in the afternoon they cleared the 
large island on their port quarter, and went off on a 
new course to get round some other island which Inglis 
said was the last of the group. At sundown the same 
evening they were off a fire-belching peak that rose from 
the waters like a grim sentinel and cast its lurid light 
for many miles around. 


“We are now on 158° 5',” the Captain announced, 
“ and but for some coral islands have a clear run north. 
We are just crossing the seventh parallel, and if nothing 
happens we shall be at your island by the time church 
bells should be ringing to-morrow.” 

No one went to sleep that night, and when Sunday 
morning broke, each scanned the blue sparkling waters 
eagerly to catch the first glimpse of what they now 
regarded as their own island. On every side, rings of 
white surf surrounding a patch of green, with occa- 
sionally a gleam of pink showing through, indicated the 
presence of coral atolls; but directly in front the sea 
was absolutely free from any bar to their progress, and 
the boys experienced a strange feeling which, although 
they would not admit it, was akin to disappointment. 

“ But it will be low-lying,” said Richard, in what he 
meant to be an encouraging speech ; “ we shall not be 
able to see the island until we are just on it.” 

The rest said nothing. Thomson was in the engine- 
room and was the only partner not present on the look- 
out. The day wore on, and even Ah Sing’s summons to 
breakfast was ignored. Suddenly the Captain, who had 
been taking observations all morning, laid down his sex- 
tant, and rang down, “ Stop.” 

“ I await your further orders, gentlemen,” he then 
said, joining the boys. “ I have brought you to your 
destination. We are at 158° 5' east longitude by 4 0 2' 3". 
south.” 

And the blue waters of the Pacific stretched as far 
as the eye could reach. 


CHAPTER VI 


Some Discoveries 

Richard took the instrument from the Captain’s hands, 
and after gazing long and earnestly at the sun’s image as 
brought down by the powerful reflectors, he laid it aside 
and made some calculations. The others, including 
Thomson, who had just come on deck, looked on in si- 
lence. 

“ Yes,” finally announced Richard, “ our position is 
as the Captain says : we are where our island should be.” 

“ Is there no room for doubt? ” asked Tom anxiously. 
“ My father could not make a mistake, I am sure.” 

“ I am afraid some one has made a mistake if you 
were led to expect to find an island here,” said the Cap- 
tain. “ There isn’t even a coral reef in sight.” 

Tom’s face was very white and he looked vacantly 
seawards. 

“ Never mind, partner,” said Thomson, “ any other 
island will do us just as well. Let us go back to some 
of those the Captain knows.” 

“ All my knowledge is at your service, boys,” added 
the Captain kindly. “ Only, are you quite sure your- 
selves that you have the right positions? You couldn’t 
show me the original chart, I suppose ? ” 

“ No,” said Tom sadly. “ We were afraid of it fall- 
ing into other hands, so we committed the figures to 
memory and burnt the chart. But the figures were as 
we have said, one five eight, five, by four, two, three.” 
120 


Some Discoveries 


12 I 


“ You are sure it was east longitude and south lati- 
tude ?” 

Yes, the words east and south were written after 
the figures.” 

The Captain seemed perplexed. No solution of the 
mystery presented itself to him, and he did not know 
what to say to give any hope to his owners. At length a 
thought struck him. ‘'Your father was a sailor ?” he 
asked. “ He wasn’t only a gentleman handling his own 
yacht ? ” 

“ My father was the captain, and Mr. Preston, Rich- 
ard’s father, was the owner,” returned Tom. “ There is 
no chance that he made any mistake. He was too care- 
ful in every way to do that.” 

“ Then you couldn’t possibly have made a mistake 
yourself in your reading of the position ? ” 

“ Why, Captain, how could we do that ? ” 

“ Well, it’s like this. I undertook to be your skipper 
for the sake of the money I could earn for my old 
mother, and therefore I have no right to stick my finger 
into this business any farther than concerns my articles, 
but if you will allow me for the time to be one of your- 
selves so that I can speak as I like, I believe we’ll get 
some light concerning this lost island.” 

“ Captain Inglis, we all look upon you as one of 
ourselves,” said Richard. “ Every man on this ship has 
done his utmost for us, and every man will be well re- 
warded; for although we may not find our island we 

can easily sell the Cinderella for a good sum and ” 

“ You’ll do no such thing, my boy,” interrupted the 
Captain. “ Both Stansbury and I will stick to you till 
we search the whole Pacific, for I know there must be 
something good about these parts or that gang of wreck- 


122 


The Pearl Seekers 


ers that call themselves the Twentieth Century Adven- 
turers wouldn’t be on your tracks so hotly.” 

“ We’ll find our island,” said Tom quietly. He had 
now recovered himself somewhat. 

“ Of course we will,” cried Thomson. “ We’ll just 
apply our old system of mind concentration, and we’ll 
see the island popping up in front of us, or else run 
aground on it.” 

“ Oh, by the way,” interrupted the Captain, who had 
been thinking deeply while Thomson was speaking, “ are 
you positive that your figures did not read one five eight, 
fifty, instead of one five eight, five? See, it would be 
easy to miss the cipher if it were written this way.” The 
Captain stooped and chalked on the deck the figures 158° 
5' and 158° 50', and surveyed them intently for a minute 
as if pleased with his handiwork. 

“ No, Captain ; your first figures are correct, except 
that the minute sign was absent after the five. The 
original was like this.” Tom took the chalk from the 
Captain and drew out on the deck 158° 5. 

“ I’ll tell you what that means,” broke in Stansbury. 
“ We are twenty-five miles too far west. That reads one 
five eight, point five, which, -of course, means thirty min- 
utes and not five.” 

Captain Inglis shook his head. “ No skipper would 
write it that way,” he said. “ But we can prove the 
matter in a couple of hours. What do you say, boys ? ” 

“ As our island is certainly somewhere near here, and 
we mean to find it, it seems to me that we should see if 
any misunderstanding of the figures has been made in 
the first place,” said Tom, and all the partners signified 
that they agreed with him. 


Some Discoveries 


123 


“ All right, then,” cried the Captain briskly. “ We’ll 
start right away on our island-seeking cruise. Get to 
your posts, gentlemen.” He stepped on the bridge and 
rang down “ Half speed.” Thomson sprang to his post 
below, and in almost no time the thud of the engines 
again resounded through the ship, and the water re- 
ceded swiftly from her stern. The Cinderella had 
swung round while she was drifting, but the Captain 
brought her back and headed her bows due east in a very 
short space of time, and rang “ Full speed ” down to 
the engine-room. 

Once more the surge parted before the gallant vessel, 
and again the boys gathered in the bows to look out for 
their island, for somehow the belief had grown upon 
them that one five eight, point five, was its correct posi- 
tion. An hour passed, then a shout arose from all si- 
mutaneously. 

“ There it is ! ” cried Jack. “ We are running 
straight down on it.” 

“ It is a high mountain,” said Powell. “ I see the 
clouds resting on the top.” 

Tom and Richard raised their binoculars; but Cap- 
tain Inglis had already swept the horizon with his tele- 
scope, and into its range about fifteen miles distant a 
mountain was rising from the sea to greet them. 

“ Well, may I grow into a Chinaman ! ” he ejaculated. 
“ There is an island sure enough, and it is not on the 
chart.” 

A thrill of excitement ran through the whole ship, 
and even the strangely-mixed crew seemed to be ani- 
mated, and congregated on the forecastle to discuss mat- 
ters from their point of view. The partners meanwhile 


124 


The Pearl Seekers 


had brought their glasses to bear on the island, and ex- 
clamations of wonder and delight broke from them as 
its form and nature became more distinct. 

“It is an enchanted island,” cried Jack; “it looks as 
if it had stepped out of the Arabian Nights.” 

“ It is a volcano ! ” exclaimed Powell ; “ I saw a 
cloud of smoke burst from that peak in the centre just 
now.” 

Tom and Richard did not express their feelings ; they 
wondered if the piece of land shooting up from the sea 
held any secrets as well as treasure. 

Rapidly the Cinderella neared the strange island, 
and soon a ridge of white glistening surf and dense 
clouds of scintillating spray appeared ahead apparently 
encircling the mainland, which lay a mile inside. 

“ A coral reef,” explained the Captain in answer to 
Tom’s look of inquiry. “ All the islands here are sur- 
rounded by them, just the same as were the submerged 
ones we passed on Friday.” 

“But how can we get past?” asked Tom, coming 
aft to the bridge ; “ we can’t go over that barrier.” 

“ Not much, but we’ll get through somewhere,” an- 
swered the Captain. “ There are always some breaks 
in these surfs, and we’ll have to look for one.” In re- 
sponse to his touch the Cinderella made a graceful curve 
and sailed away in a large circling course to the south, 
and more features of the island showed themselves as 
the point of view of the watchers changed. It seemed 
to be about twelve miles in length, and rose taperingly 
to a height of about six thousand feet. Great gloomy 
fissures appeared high up in its sides, above what was 
apparently the limit of vegetation, but beneath this point 
nothing could be seen but dense brilliantly-coloured fob- 



B 761 


PART OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN SHOWING THE POSITION 
OF THE PEARL ISLAND 


















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f 











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V 























Some Discoveries 


125 


age. At length a narrow opening in the surf-bound 
guarding reef promised means of entrance to the land 
beyond, and the Cinderella was promptly headed for the 
gateway. Gallantly she approached the cloud of surf 
and spray, the noise of which boomed like thunder as 
the reef was neared. A minute more and she had 
plunged between the portals of boiling foam. The spray 
fell over her deck, and the roar of the water was deaf- 
ening; but Captain Inglis knew what he was about, and 
suddenly the white-capped reef was behind them. 

“ Why is there such a disturbance there ? ” inquired 
Jack, as Stansbury and he came aft drenched with the 
warm spray. “ There is not a ripple on the sea, and yet 
one would think from that wall of surf that Atlantic 
rollers were breaking upon the reef.” 

“ It is the long Pacific swell,” replied the junior 
officer. “ It is so long and regular that a ship does not 
feel it, but it is there all the same. It comes from the 
Atlantic Ocean, and anything that tries to stop it knows 
all about it. There are millions of horse-power in its 
movement, and it never ceases. Hullo ! there is quite 
a natural harbour behind that bluff on shore. We’ll be 
safe here, even if a typhoon comes along.” 

Stansbury was right. As they drew near to the 
shore at half-speed, and just as the Captain was about 
to order soundings to be taken, a bay opened out before 
them, and they sailed towards it. 

“ There must be a river coming down at the head of 
that opening,” said Inglis to Tom. “ I can feel the 
current now. What a place for a gang of pirates ! ” 

The Cinderella now, moving slowly, crept in, and the 
waterway still lay before them, leading into the heart of 
the mountain. On either side the narrowing shores rose 


126 


The Pearl Seekers 


gently, thickly clad with palm, acacias, banyan and 
bread-fruit trees; while birds of gay plumage of the 
parrot family, startled from their mid-day sleep in the 
shade of the branches, flew in great chattering clouds 
over the masts of the Cinderella. Suddenly the water 
ended in a trickling stream which fell from far over- 
head, and the Cinderella was brought to a stop, and 
moored alongside a coral bank which acted as a natural 
quay. Looking back, the boys saw that they were hid- 
den from the sea, and, with a shout of joy, Davis, Powell, 
and Richard sprang ashore. Their long voyage was at 
an end, and their dream of the past four years had be- 
come a reality. So they thought. 

“ Gentlemen, I congratulate you on your property,” 
said the Captain, addressing them. “ I am sorry that 
we can’t very well run up a Union Jack, as Germany 
already claims everything west of 163° in these latitudes. 
Still, if you intend to go in for making flying machines 
or bombs, or to do anything which requires absolute 
freedom and secrecy, I reckon you have got it here. 
I suppose I’ll soon be out of a job again, though.” 

“ We mean to raise pearl shell, and sell that wher- 
ever the best market is,” said Tom ; “ therefore, Cap- 
tain, there is no fear of your having to find another ship. 
Your fortune is bound up in ours now, and we certainly 
do not regret the fact.” 

“Well, boys,” replied the Captain, with just a sus- 
picion of a break in his voice, “ I am not much use to 
any one. There are plenty fellows knocking about who 
would know better how to help you than I; but this I 
will say, I like you, and there is no harm will ever come 
near any of you while unlucky Inglis can stave it off. I 
— I am not much good speechifying ” 


Some Discoveries 


127 


“ Then let us get something to eat,” cried Tom ; “ we 
have had nothing to-day, and Ah Sing is broken-hearted. 
Come on, Stansbury, don’t look downhearted. You are 
in this thing with us too, and with the help of Provi- 
dence, which has been with us all along, we’ll make 
enough out of pearl shell to enable you to go home to 
Melbourne and marry that little girl you told us about.” 

Tom was certainly in high spirits now, and the com- 
bined breakfast and lunch that day was a great success. 
The partners and Stansbury were eager to set about 
exploring the island at once, but both Tom and the Cap- 
tain raised objections. 

“ It is Sunday,” said Tom, “ and after having come 
through so much, we surely can afford to respect that 
day.” The Captain’s words were somewhat similar, and 
the others gave in. 

As Tom and Richard reclined in their deck-chairs 
during the afternoon, sheltered from the vertical rays of 
the sun by the overhanging branches of the palm-trees, 
and lulled almost to slumber by the intoxicating nature 
of the delightfully fragrant breeze which blew down the 
gully, Kotay came up to them and said, “ You goin’ 
to look for shell here, boss?” He looked at Tom as he 
spoke, and the latter answered with a smile. 

“ Yes, Kotay, we want a lot of pearl shell. That is 
what we have come for.” 

The Jap’s eyes beamed with intelligence, but there 
was also a look of surprise on his mobile face. “ Then 
why you leave place this morning? Plenty shell there. 
Not much round this island.” 

“ Indeed, how do you know? We have not tried yet. 
It is out round the beach we expect to find it, you 
know.” 


128 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Oh, I know that, but you’ll not find many shell. 
Kotay watched when coming in an’ no see any sea 
snake. Plenty pearl shell where plenty sea-snake; sea- 
snake feed on oyster. Plenty sea-snake where we 
stopped this morning. — Oh, crikey, here’s the Captain. 
You come to me when you want get shell.” He ran 
below, and Captain Inglis approached, dressed in his 
best uniform. 

“ What was that rascal troubling you about ? ” he 
asked. “ I have given orders that none of the crew 
are to come to you with their grumbles. I am here to 
attend to them.” 

“ Kotay wasn’t grumbling, Captain,” laughed Rich- 
ard. “ He was telling Tom some yarn about how you 
know where there’s plenty shell underneath.” 

“Was he? Then I should advise you to give some 
heed to what he says. Kotay was chief diver in a lug- 
ger up at Thursday Island for a long time, and what 
he doesn’t know of the art of pearling isn’t much. 
That’s why I signed him on the Cinderella . All the 
Manillamen are up to the game too.” 

“ But you didn’t know we were going pearling when 
we left Sydney?” said Tom. 

“ Oh, I had a fair guess it would come round to that. 
I saw the books you were reading, and I knew the chief 
use you could make of that diving dress of yours. Be- 
sides, I am not exactly a fool, and when you told me 
you were afraid to have a white crew, because of the 
prospect of not being able to handle them should occa- 
sion arise, I knew that you were not going for a Sunday 
School excursion, and meant to have something valua- 
ble on board which might tempt a white crew. But 
now that we are here, what are your instructions, and 


Some Discoveries 


129 

what am I to do, apart from sailing the ship, to help 
you ? ” 

“ What, Captain, are you asking for orders ? ” cried 
Richard. 

“ I am, sir. At sea I am in command of my ship, 
but on shore I sail under another skipper, if you will 
pardon the metaphor.” 

“ Then Tom is skipper now. We all take our orders 
from him,” said Richard, “ and a better chief no one 
ever was under.” 

“That is all nonsense,” laughed Tom; “but, frankly, 
Captain, I believe I know our plans best, and, with 
advice from all, hope to carry our work through in the 
best way.” 

“ Then your commands are ? ” 

“ That to-morrow you will see to the safety of your 
ship, regarding this island as perhaps being inhabited 
by savages. You will take from among us all you 
think necessary for that purpose, and set free all of the 
crew you don’t require. If you can do that readily, 
then I wish an exploring party to cross that ridge and 
go south, which you will kindly arrange as you think 
best; I and another will go north. When we have ex- 
plored the island, and know whether or not it is peopled, 
we will then determine our next move at a general 
council. Am I understood ? ” 

“ Perfectly. Your orders shall be obeyed. But I 
do not think the inhabitants of this place will be savages. 
They are more likely to be a tribe of half-civilised peo- 
ple from the Florida Islands, who have made this a sort 
of week-end resort.” 

“ Then you think it is inhabited ? ” 

“ Rather. See those wild pigs, and look at t! it 
(b 761) J 


130 


The Pearl Seekers 


crowd of half-caste poultry squabbling on shore under 
that banyan-tree. You never find them where there are 
no people, for they have to be brought over first them- 
selves.” 

“ Are there any uninhabited islands in the South 
Seas, Captain?” asked Richard. 

“Yes, more than you could count easily; but, then, 
some of them are just banks of coral, and no one could 
live on them for want of fresh water. You may safely 
bet that any little chunk of land around here, with a 
fresh-water supply, has at least been visited by the 
hardy native of Ysabel’s Island, or maybe from Ndeni 
in the Santa Cruz group. Why, boys, some of the 
peoples who hang out in the Pacific have an older civil- 
isation than we have. Look at the Tongan Islanders, 
and — oh, I beg your pardon, gentlemen, I forgot this 
was not a school of geographical instruction, and I know 
so blamed little that I am always airing what I do know.” 

“ Go on, Captain,” said Tom. “ We are eager to 
know more of the wonderful people of the South Seas. 
You can't tire us by giving information. Richard and 
I are going to visit every one of the islands before we 
leave this part of the world.” 

“ Then you’ll require another lease or two of life, I 
reckon.” 

“ Perhaps I should not have said all ; I meant to 
say, until we find some clue as to our parents’ fate. 
They were wrecked or taken prisoners somewhere about 
here, and Richard and I mean to find out all that is to 
be known about them when we get enough money from 
the sale of pearl shell to enable us to organise a search.” 

“ Then, boys, Captain Inglis will be with you. 1 
know the islands well. I was brought up among them 


Some Discoveries 


131 

on my father’s trader, and until he was killed by the 
natives down at San Christoval I never sailed elsewhere.” 

The Captain was more talkative than usual that 
afternoon, and soon the boys had drawn him into telling 
of some weird and wonderful experiences he had had 
among the islands. They did not notice the time pass- 
ing, and by and by the sun went down, and the red 
glare at the top of the peak shone out against the sky, 
making the whole island appear to be on fire. Then 
Ah Sing’s gong sounded, and with a start they roused 
themselves and realised that they were still on the Cin- 
derella’s deck, and that festive mosquitoes were not 
pleasant companions. 

A watch was set that night, and after assisting to see 
that everything was in order to guard against a possi- 
ble surprise, the boys retired to rest, for they were all 
very much in need of sleep. Tom, however, woke up 
several times during the night. The novelty of their 
position seemed to exert a strange influence over him, 
and he missed the beat of the engines. Once he started 
up, fancying he saw a face bending over him, but it 
proved to be, when he became fully awake, only his 
open port-hole, through which the fiery glow of the 
volcano far overhead was spasmodically flashing. Then 
he slept again and dreamed he heard his father calling 
to him. There was a beautiful girl by his father’s side, 
too, and she seemed to be gazing anxiously seaward as 
if expecting some one. They appeared to be standing 
on a coral beach, and some fire-belching peak shed a 
weird light over the scene. Then other figures came 
into the picture, and he awoke to find just such a light 
all around him as had accompanied his dream, and real- 
ised that the burning mountain at the base of which 


132 


The Pearl Seekers 


they lay was the cause of his vision. Shortly after, a 
slight breeze sprang up and blew through his port-hole; 
the deadly silence of the night was broken by a slight 
rustling of leaves; then some birds burst into what, 
doubtless, was intended for their morning song, but 
really was a series of discordant shrieks. 

Tom got up. “ It is useless trying to sleep/’ he said 
to himself ; “ my mind seems to people my cabin with 
all sorts of creatures. I must be suffering from indi- 
gestion.” 

He went on deck. The morning air was cool and 
fragrant, and the red glow on the mountain-top was 
dissolving into the light of day. “ How beautiful the 
morning is here ! ” he thought aloud ; “ all nature seems 
refreshed, and ready to stand the intense heat that will 
follow when the sun rises. And what a night I had, so 
full of dreadful dreams and visions ! Why, I am quot- 
ing Clarence in Richard the Third. I wish it were 
morning.” 

“ And so do I, Tom.” The speaker was Thomson, 
who apparently had been on deck for some time. “ I 
could not sleep. I was always starting up thinking 
something was wrong, because I could not hear the 
beat of the engines. I think there must be something 
in the air of this wonderful island that makes me have 
fancies. That volcano up above has been on my nerves 
all night, and ” 

“ Wha’ you likee fo’ bleakfast ? ” Ah Sing had 
glided noiselessly up to them. 

“What can you give us?” asked Tom. 

“ Oh allee samee me. Ham an’ egg, chopee, bilds’ 
nests on toast, hen wit’ fou’ feet? You say; Ah Sing 
wait, wan’ to please.” 


Some Discoveries 


133 

“ Ham and eggs,” said Thomson ; “ but I don’t know 
how you can provide the eggs.” 

“You waitee see,” replied Ah Sing, hurrying away. 
Then Captain Inglis stepped on deck. “ Good-morning, 
gentlemen,” he cried ; “ you are early risers I see.” 

“ Yes,” answered Tom. “ We want to see what our 
island is like before starting to look for its pearl treasure. 
And, Captain, as we are early up and it would be a 
pity to waken the others, Thomson and I will have break- 
fast at once and set out to explore our property. Ah 
Sing is preparing something to eat now.” 

“ All right, boys. I intend seeing what the south 
end is like before the day is over, but I — well, no — I 
don’t insist, but I ask you to take a load of responsibility 
off my mind by taking Kotay with you. I am the oldest 
man on this ship, you know, and I — well — I ” 

“And you are right, Captain,”, said Tom, “and will 
be obeyed accordingly. I will go and awake Kotay 
now.” 

He rushed away, and in a few minutes reappeared 
with the little Jap, who was still rubbing his eyes to 
awake himself fully. 

“ Kotay,” said the Captain, and the little man stood 
to attention, “ you will go with these gentlemen to-day, 
and attend to them, and see that all come back safely.” 

“ Kotay savy, sir ; you depend on him,” replied the 
Jap. 

“ Then go and get your breakfast and be ready as 
soon as your masters are,” said the Captain; and Kotay 
disappeared promptly down the companionway. 

Half an hour later, fortified by a good breakfast, 
Tom, Thomson, and Kotay climbed over the side of 
the ship and stood upon the shore. The sun had just 


134 


The Pearl Seekers 


arisen and the air seemed alive with birds of every de- 
scription. They each carried revolvers, the Captain 
had insisted on their doing so, and Kotay had also pro- 
vided himself with a bag containing the wherewithal for 
lunch. 

“ Tom,” said the engineer, “ you are the chief of 
this expedition, so lead, and as Bruce said — no, I mean 
Douglas, Thomson will follow thee or die.” 

“ An’ my word, you bet Kotay not be far away too, 
neither,” cried the Jap; and Tom at once plunged into 
the dense undergrowth followed by his companions. 

Half an hour later, Jack, James, and Stansbury were 
awakened by Ah Sing's gong, and on putting in an 
appearance in the saloon found that they were the only 
occupants, the Captain and Richard having left imme- 
diately after the first party to explore the south side of 
the island. The late risers were therefore compelled to 
remain in charge of the ship, much to their disgust, for 
they had been anticipating many wonderful adventures 
that day. 

Tom and David found it no easy task to make 
headway through the matted entanglements of wild vine 
and other creeping plants which grew between the trees 
like huge spider-webs. They would have proceeded to 
cut a passage, but Kotay said he knew a better plan than 
that, and throwing his slight form against the network 
he showed that it could be burst through. Allowing 
Kotay to lead them, they made better progress for a 
time, but soon the undergrowth became of such a nature 
that they were continually stumbling among its spread- 
ing roots. The two boys in turn relieved the little Jap 
in forcing a way through the barriers ; but suddenly Tom 
tripped in some rather low-lying creepers, and before 




it /in 


THOMSON CAUGHT AT SOME CLINGING VEGETATION AS HE FELL 



Some Discoveries 


i3S 


his companions could assist him to rise he disappeared 
from sight under foot. Thomson sprang forward, and 
next instant felt himself falling through space, and im- 
mediately on top of him came Kotay. 

Thomson caught at some clinging vegetation as he 
fell, which unwound itself in his hands, but nevertheless 
sustained him in his fall considerably, and when he 
landed in a hard bed of what seemed like rock he was 
not hurt. Neither was Kotay; he seemed to be made 
of rubber, and bounced like a ball when he struck bot- 
tom, finally coming to rest beside Thomson. 

“ What has happened ? ” cried the latter. “ Where 
are we? Where is Tom?” 

“ Here,” cried his comrade’s voice close beside him ; 
“ I am half-buried in the stuff that came down with me, 
but otherwise I think I am all right.” 

Thomson and Kotay at once went to Tom’s assist- 
ance, and freed him from his clinging attachments, and 
then they looked round to see the nature of the place into 
which they had fallen. They were standing upon what 
appeared to be the hard waterworn bed of a large moun- 
tain gully, and in semi-darkness. The sides of the ra- 
vine were almost smooth, and rose above them at a steep 
angle until lost in the thickly-interlaced vegetation which 
grew across and formed a roof. 

“ How are we going to get out?” were Thomson’s 
first words. 

“ We don’t want out, David,” answered his com- 
panion. “ Evidently this is the continuation of one of 
the big fissures we saw in the mountain when out at 
sea. We thought then that the cracks ended where 
the zone of vegetation began, but we see now that they 
don’t, and that they run down all the way to the beach, 


136 


The Pearl Seekers 


only covered in, so that we would never have discov- 
ered them had we not fallen through, by the creeping 
undergrowth of the forest.” 

“ Yes, we can see that this is a channel worn by the 
action of a lava stream which at one time came down 
this way, and may come again any time, from that peak 
overhead, and that it is now a waterway to carry off 
the great rain floods that will wash the island during 
the rainy season, whenever that is. But how are we 
to get out ? ” 

“ By following this channel until we get to the crest 
of this hill we are on ; there we shall probably find an- 
other gully running down the other side to the beach, 
which will lead us there much faster than we could go 
by forcing our way through the brushwood on top. 
But we won’t see the island except at the point where we 
strike the beach.” 

“ Well, it is the beach that concerns us chiefly. We 
can’t see anything more than a yard in front of us on top 
in any case, and if the country appears to be changing in 
any way, we can climb out by the aid of some of those 
fibrous creepers, which we can break down from our 
roof with stones.” 

“ All right, Tom, go ahead. It is perhaps just as 
well that we have found roads ready made, for we might 
fall into some hidden bottomless fissure or tread on some 
squirming reptile if we continued upstairs, and we can 
at least see what lies ahead as we travel in this two- 
penny tube.” 

Once more the trio moved on, but this time progress 
was very much easier, as they had a sure foothold and 
no barriers to impede them. Kotay went ahead, stoop- 
ing every little distance to pick up some animal or 


Some Discoveries 


137 


reptile that had fallen through the leafy roof and had 
been unable to get out again. The boys wondered why 
they had not seen those creatures before, but came to 
the conclusion that that was because some of them dwelt 
in the world of undergrowths and had scurried away at 
their approach. Of course, they did not know the names 
of most of the creatures they saw, but they observed that 
all tried their best to escape into corners when Kotay 
went near them. The Jap was certainly not afraid. He 
seemed to know them all, and commented at length upon 
some to the edification of his masters. 

“ I wish we had taken some water with us,” said 
Tom, as he dodged the flapping wings of several excited 
cockatoos which flew about looking for an opening to 
the upper world. 

“ Plenty water soon,” said Kotay. “ Lot big tracks 
here all go that way.” 

“ And there seems to be plenty of animals as well as 
tracks, Kotay,” cried Thomson, gingerly stepping over 
a peculiarly-shaped creature that resembled nothing he 
had ever seen before. 

“ Here is a fish, David,” cried Tom, “ and it’s got 
feet.” 

“ Get out, Tom, how can a fish live on a lava bed? ” 

“ Well, see for yourself. Look at it.” 

Thomson bent over the scaly object and then uttered 
an exclamation of surprise.. “ What sort of country 
have we found, Tom? ” he cried. “ It is a fish, and it is 
walking.” 

The two boys sat down beside the strange contra- 
version of nature’s laws and watched it closely. Clearly 
it was walking, at least it was wobbling along on the 
tips of its fins. 


The Pearl Seekers 


138 

“ What you see for laugh at ? ” inquired Kotay, com- 
ing back to Tom and David. 

“ A fish walking on dry land,” said Thomson. 
“ Have you ever seen that before ? ” 

“ You bet,” replied the little man. “ Saw lots of fish 
on the march up in the Banks Islands. They no’ like 
where they stay, and go away look for another water- 
hole. This fellow lookin’ for water-hole now, no have to 
look far. Water-hole just here. See all them wriggle 
fellows making for it.” 

“ Great Piston Rods ! ” exclaimed Thomson, looking 
up the gully where Kotay pointed, and springing to his 
feet, “ Kotay is right, Tom, there is a pool of water just 
ahead, and there’s enough different kinds of animals 
waddling into it to populate a Noah’s ark.” 

In a moment the boys were by the pool. It was 
simply a basin in the lava bed which had retained by 
reason of its depth a quantity of the precious fluid which 
rushed down the ravine during the rainy season. In it 
and around it were hundreds of crawling things, and 
converging on the pool from all points were hundreds 
more. All seemed imbued with the same instinct, and 
that was to get into the water, where a general battle 
raged continuously among the occupants to prove the 
law of the survival of the fittest. 

The boys turned away with a shudder; but Kotay 
kicked some amphibious creatures from his path, and 
calmly filled a water-bag he produced from somewhere 
about his person. “ Better have a drink, sir,” he then 
said, addressing Tom. “ Water good, and not likely 
any more, for all fellows come down this hole.” 

The boys were very thirsty, and mastering their 
repugnance took a drink from Kotay’s bag. Then Kotay 


Some Discoveries 


139 

refilled it, and they started off again. In about an hour’s 
time they reached the summit of the shoulder they were 
crossing, and just there the overgrown gully which had 
served them so well for a roadway joined a much larger 
one running down the top of the ridge from the great 
volcanic peak which formed the centre of the island. 
Here the party climbed up the bank and stood once more 
amidst the tropical vegetation of the forest. But noth- 
ing could be seen. Around and overhead blazed a 
wealth of foliage and flowering creepers which shut their 
surroundings from view completely. 

“We might as well be down in the underground 
railway again,” remarked Thomson. “ We can see 
nothing here, although I am sure we have climbed to a 
considerable height.” 

“ You want see much of this place ? ” queried Kotay, 
who had been amusing himself by cutting a mass of 
creepers from the trunk of a tree. 

“We just do, Kotay,” answered Tom. “ Have you 
any patent which will help us to do so?” 

“ My word, you bet I have — good patent, too. You 
climb tree after me an’ see all you want from top.” 

“A brilliant idea, Kotay,” cried Tom; “I never 
thought of that.” 

Kotay had already swung himself into the vegeta- 
tion overhead, and the two boys at once followed him. 
They had no difficulty in raising themselves through the 
leafy mass, for Kotay broke it before them, and footholds 
were obtainable anywhere in the creeper stems which 
wound themselves in endless spirals round the tree. 
Higher and higher they forced a way, passing into suc- 
ceeding zones of lighter-coloured foliage as they neared 
the sunlight. Birds of many varieties the boys had never 


140 


The Pearl Seekers 


seen, or heard of, fluttered about them with incessant 
chattering, their gay plumages flashing vividly in the 
chance beams of light which filtered through the top. 
“ This reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk,” said 
David, shaking some sort of tree-climbing animal from 
his left foot. “ I wonder what we’ll find when we get 
up?” 

“ We’ll find the sun beating upon us in a manner that 
will make us get down again quickly, I suppose,” said 
Tom. “Hello! Kotay is out. So are we. Oh, look 
away down there, David ! Did you ever see any picture 
with a colouring equal to that ? ” 

“You mean the beach? I don’t see anything else,” 
said the unpoetical Thomson. 

“ The beach ? Why, it is like a large ring of rubies 
set in a sapphire sea.” 

“ I see smoke away to the south-west ; that must be 
a steamer coming along,” interrupted David, balancing 
himself on a swaying branch. 

Tom’s poetical flight was instantly arrested. 
“ Where ? ” he cried. “ Oh yes, I see what you mean 
now, but that is only a cloud on the horizon ; I suppose 
it will grow larger until the sky is covered, and then 
we’ll have a tropical deluge. The time is about due, the 
Captain told me yesterday. But look, there are the 
Cinderella's masts and the top of her funnel about two 
miles down from here.” 

“ Yes,” said Thomson. “ She seems to be lying at 
the end of the gully we came up, if that really is the 
course of our roadway we can trace by the dip in the 
tree tops.” 

“ Why, yes, David, that dip must mark one gully ; 
and here is another decided hollow going down to the 


Some Discoveries 


141 

beach on this side; there must be another crack In the 
mountain going down there. We’ll follow it if there is 
one, and get back round the beach.” 

“All right,” agreed Thomson, watching the distant 
cloud closely. “ We’d better get a look at our pearling 
grounds as soon as possible.” So saying, he began to 
work his way down the tree; but Tom still retained his 
position, and mentally made a note of the configuration 
of the island as seen from his exalted perch. They had 
evidently reached a point half-way up the mountain 
which formed the backbone of the island and beneath 
them stretched a sea of waving foliage running down to 
the distant coral beach, over which the snowy surf broke 
perpetually. He also marked the approximate position 
of the clefts as indicated by the depressions and com- 
parative thinness of the vegetation above them ; for 
nothing grew on the hard lava formations, and conse- 
quently their course could be traced on the top. When 
he descended he found that his companion had already 
located the fissure leading down the other side of the 
shoulder; and drawing his attention to the fact that the 
fork was formed just at that point by the greater cleft, 
which came down from the mountain-top, splitting in 
two and thus taking the shape of a great inverted Y, 
one leg of which ran down each side of the shoulder, he 
took their bearings with a compass, and followed Thom- 
son and Kotay down the second gully. This one 
stretched away from their feet in a straight unbroken 
tunnel until its form became lost in the distant gloom. 
It was delightfully cool in the strange passage, and a 
current of air blowing through refreshed them greatly 
after their roasting experience at the tree-tops. Thom- 
son started running down the long sloping path, and 


142 


The Pearl Seekers 


Tom and Kotay followed his example. Thus they ar- 
rived at what seemed to be the foot of the hill in a very 
short space of time, and found themselves confronted 
by a dense mass of interlaced vegetation which walled 
them in. 

“ I hear the boom of the surf now,” said Tom. 
“ This must be the end of our tunnel. Let us cut our 
way out.” 

But Kotay had already burst through, and in another 
minute the three stood on the open beach admiring the 
beautiful border of white shells which fringed the coral 
all round the shore. 

“ This is glorious ! ” cried Thomson. “ Who votes 
for a swim to see if we can locate any pearl-shell beds? ” 

“ No, no ! ” cried Kotay, “ plenty shark about here. 
They hungry, too.” 

“ Oh, bother the sharks, I’m going in,” returned 
Thomson, and Tom looked as if he also would have 
enjoyed a swim in the sparkling waters. 

“ All right, then,” said Kotay, plunging in, clothes 
and all, “ you come now. Shark no touch white man 
when nigger or any other kind of fellow about.” 

“ How will they know the difference without tast- 
ing?” asked Tom; but the Jap was already diving in 
search of shell, and did not hear Tom’s question, and 
discarding their boots only the two boys plunged in be- 
side him. 

“ I see a large pearl shell,” cried Thomson, and he 
dived and brought up a fine specimen about nine inches 
in diameter. 

“ Here’s another,” cried his companion, holding aloft 
one equally splendid. 


Some Discoveries 


I 43 


Oh, lots of that kind shell here,” said Kotay con- 
temptuously, standing up and looking at the shells the 
boys held in their hands. “ Them no good. This is the 
fellow you want. Maybe pearl in him, but not in yours.” 
He dived again and came up with two shells, which he 
handed to David and Tom. “ You see this mark on 
outside shell ? ” he continued, pointing out some concen- 
tric lines on one side of the casing ; “ that is where he 
rolls little piece of sand until he grow into big pearl. 
No see this mark, no find any pearl.” 

“Then you think pearls grow from sand?” said 
Tom, dropping into the water again. 

“ You bet. Oyster shake sand about because sand 
is no like much by him ; he no able to get him out, so 
he covers him, and covers him with the stuff he makes 
his shell until he grow into big pearl.” 

“ How do you know ? ” asked Thomson. 

“ Because I have been pearl-diver long time and 
watched. The Chinkies put little piece of sand into 
oyster and then put shell back on good bed until he 
makes a pearl, then they take him up and take pearl 
out.” 

“ The Chinkies ? ” cried the boys. “ Who are the 
Chinkies ? ” 

“You not know that?” Kotay ’s astonishment was 
great. “ Why, Chinamen, of course. Ah Sing is a 
Chinkie or Chow. He blame good pearler all the same.” 

“ Thanks, Kotay, for your information,” said Tom, 
“ but I understood you to say yesterday that there wasn’t 
much pearl shell here.” 

“ No, there no much shell here. One, two, three 
shell no good to fill a ship. Must find shell fast as can 


144 


The Pearl Seekers 


pick them up. When you go back where we stopped 
yesterday, plenty shell there, plenty sea-snake, water 
not deep there, think there must be a bank not far 
down Look out ! Shark ! 55 Kotay dived and dis- 
appeared, and looking round the boys saw a huge shark 
rushing swiftly towards them. Only its brown trian- 
gular fin was visible above the surface, but the water 
was so clear that its enormous body was quite easily 
distinguishable. With one accord the boys made for the 
shore, and the ugly creature turned on its back and came 
at them. But it had evidently made a miscalculation 
as to the proximity of the shore, for while it was still 
a good distance from Thomson, who was the nearer of 
the two, it grounded itself and lay helpless and splash- 
ing half-way out upon the beach. Just then Kotay came 
up from behind with his long knife in his teeth, and 
before Tom or David knew what was happening the water 
around assumed a dark purple tinge and the shark was 
lifeless. 

“ Some sharks very silly / 5 remarked Kotay, wiping 
the knife upon its palpitating body ; “ he was big 
enough to know that Kotay killed lots of his brothers 
in Torres Strait. You like a tooth from him to hang 
on watch-chain ? 55 

“ No, no, Kotay , 55 cried the boys. “ And what can 
we do with the brute? Its carcass decomposing will 
cause a smell all over the island, for there is no tide to 
rise and carry the thing away . 55 

“ Oh, we can burn him by an 5 by, or pull him out 
to sea an 5 other fellow-sharks soon eat him up , 55 said 
Kotay, smiling. “ Big shark this . 55 

Probably the party would have proceeded to carry 
out one of these plans at once, but Thomson, who had 


Some Discoveries 


145 


been looking at something among the trees farther along 
the shore, suddenly exclaimed, “ I see a house ! ” and 
for the moment the shark was forgotten, and the other 
two looked where he pointed. It was a house sure 
enough, and getting into their boots the party walked 
towards it. When they came near they saw that it was 
cunningly hidden among the trees, and was visible from 
no other point than that from which they had first seen 
it. It was strongly built of rough timber, and had a 
barred space let into its walls for a window. No one 
responded to their summons at the door, and wonder- 
ing whether they could be taken up for house-breaking 
or not the boys and Kotay climbed through the bars 
across the window and dropped inside. 

(b 761) 


K 


CHAPTER VII 


Gentlemen of the Twentieth Century 
Adventures 


To say that the three house-breakers were surprised 
when they looked around them would certainly be true, 
but it would be a very poor way of expressing their 
feelings. None of them spoke for some time; each 
was trying to understand what he saw, and explain to 
himself the reason of everything. They were in a long, 
low compartment half constructed of wood and half 
excavated from the rocks behind. Piles of boxes con- 
taining condensed milk, compressed beef, jams, and 
many other commodities filled one end of the place 
and gave it a resemblance to a depot for shipwrecked 
mariners; but modern artillery, consisting of twelve- 
pounders, pom-poms, and 4-7 guns were stored lavishly 
in the other end, and surely no unfortunate castaways had 
need of such engines of destruction. Compasses, theod- 
olites, sextants, patent logs, rifles, and other instru- 
ments also found a place, and several pianos, three or- 
gans, one harmonium, and two or three dozen smaller 
musical instruments were in evidence. 

“ It looks like a Government store of some kind,” 
said Thomson at length, endeavouring to speak as 
though he had been accustomed to situations like their 
present one all his life. 


146 


Enemies 


147 


“ It would be officially marked if it were,” said 
Tom ; “ and in any case I don’t think that even the 
German Government provides musical instruments for 
its shipwrecked subjects.” 

Tom spoke coolly, yet all the time he was revolving 
in his mind the fact that the message from his father 
had come from where they were. 

“ Here am a book like one on the Cinderella ” cried 
Kotay, who had been wandering in the recesses cut 
into the rocks behind. Tom moved forward. “ Great 
Powers ! ” he cried, “ it has the name of my father’s ship 
printed on it.” 

“What does it all mean, Tom?” asked his comrade. 

“ I don’t know, David. We are near the solution of 
a mystery, but ” 

A noise like the grating of a boat’s keel on the 
beach made him pause, and at that moment Kotay, 
who had run to the window, exclaimed, “ Here is a 
boat with five — six white men, and a big steamer is 
outside the reef ! ” 

The boys ran to the window. “ That is the steamer 
we passed in the Florida Channel,” cried Thomson ex- 
citedly, “ and it was its smoke I saw after all.” 

“ And there is Slippery Charlie among those people 
in the boat just beached,” added Tom, also excited, 
although he tried to be calm. 

“ My word ! but we fellows should not be here,” 
said Kotay. 

“ We can’t get out now without them seeing us,” 
spoke Tom. “ This must be their depot.” 

“ Then let us hide behind those boxes and hear 
what they have to say,” said Thomson, recovering his 
coolness with surprising rapidity ; “ they have only 


148 


The Pearl Seekers 

come ashore in a dinghy, and can't wait here all day.” 

For a moment Tom hesitated. 

“ Come on,” cried his comrade ; “ they will murder 
us if they find us here, and we can’t get out.” 

“I know,” said Tom; “I was only wondering if we 
should not hold this place against them. We have 
guns and ammunition here, and they have none.” 

“ My word ! ” said Kotay, “ white fellows often fools. 
If them other fellows come after you, why you not hide 
here and know what they mean to do. Then you can 
shoot them from behind boxes, or wait till they get 
drunk, and then clear out.” 

“ They are at the door now,” whispered David, pull- 
ing Tom down with him behind a pile of preserved 
fruit cases. 

Kotay seized an armful of weapons and dropped 
beside them, and they had not been in this position a 
.fraction of a minute when the door was opened 
and five men strode into the apartment and seated 
themselves upon boxes which they drew down from their 
places. 

“ Gentlemen of the Twentieth Century Adventurers,” 
said one, a medium-sized, middle-aged man of dis- 
tinguished appearance and a German accent, “ this is 
our headquarters, as you know, and we have come here 
to discuss some matters of great importance to our 
Company, not to mention ourselves.” 

“lama stickler for form,” drawled a dandified sort 
of individual of somewhat youthful appearance. “ Er 
— suppose you read the minutes of the last meeting, 
just to let us know when and where it occurred, if 
nothing more.” 

“ I second that suggestion,” cried the man whom the 


Enemies 


149 

boys recognized as Slippery Charlie. “ I don’t think I 
was there. ,, 

“ No ; you were awaiting trial at the time/’ laughed 
another, lighting a cigar. “ It was just after those boys 
did you so neatly.” 

“ You might forget that incident,” suggested he 
whom the partners had trapped at home, with a trace 
of irritation in his voice. “ It is a bit stale now, and 
anyhow it seems that that affair was after all of greater 
importance than the Syndicate thought, and I was 
rushed into it without any warning as to the calibre of 
the so-called boys.” 

“ I back Charlie,” interrupted the remaining man, 
and the boys at once knew that the individual who had 
stolen their chart was before them. 

“ Very well, gentlemen,” said the first speaker. 
“ Cease this twitting one another for work not success- 
fully accomplished. Our profession is one in which we 
must take enormous risks, and we cannot reasonably 
expect always to succeed. We must therefore take our 
failures philosophically and harbour no personal animos- 
ity against those who beat us for the time, nor reproach 
any of our members who have not succeeded in what 
may have been almost an impossible adventure. Our 
duty remains the same, and as operative members of the 
greatest and most world-embracing organization of mod- 
ern times, we must view things in a manner worthy of 
ourselves. I will now read the minutes of the last meet- 
ing of the General Council ; it took place in London, but 
I believe many sub-committees have met since then in 
various parts of the world, of which we may or may not 
have some knowledge. The following are the minutes, 
gentlemen, relating to the Pacific Section, which is all 


i jo 


The Pearl Seekers 


that concerns us.” The President produced a paper, and 
after scrutinising it carefully as if to find the proper 
place, read : — 

“ Submitted by members 14 and 15 that the Cinder- 
ella had been sunk as per command, and further in- 
structions were awaited. Second. Submitted by the 
British department that a party of boys had invented 
some appliances which would, if given to the public, 
materially affect our enterprises. Third. Reported by 
the Pacific Committee that their search for the pearl 
shell island discovered by Captain Grenville of the 
Southern Cross was still without result. Fourth. In- 
timated that the French Insurance Offices had paid the 
money for the La Belle, purchased under pressure and 
sunk outside Noumea, and that the American courts 
had awarded full salvage rates for the Texas King 
which was towed into San Francisco by one of our 
craft after having been abandoned by her crew as per 
usual. Fifth. Requested that a sufficient sum be paid 
into the Bank of Australasia at Sydney to meet the ex- 
penses of a raid upon the New Hebrides. 

“ In connection with the foregoing the Council re- 
solved as follows : — First. To allow the Insurance Com- 
pany to put the sunken Cinderella up for sale, and then 
buy her back, taking care to cause a report to be made 
public that she lies in water too deep to be raised. 
Second. To find out all about the Worchester boys and 
their inventions, and how they proposed to apply them. 
If need be then to buy or otherwise acquire the inven- 
tions, or place the boys in a position where they could 
cause no harm. Third. To send out the available 
members of the old crew of the Southern Cross, and if 
they could not find the island, to take steps to compel 


Enemies 


151 

the owner or captain to disclose its position. Fourth. 
To enter the same in the books. Fifth. To send the 
money required.” 

The President of the Pacific Section of the Twentieth 
Century Adventurers laid down his paper and looked 
round. 

“ That is all, gentlemen/’ he said ; “ and as, according 
to rule, each section must adopt or reject that which 
applies to its special work at its first committee meet- 
ing, all of the above which concerns us has now been in 
force for some time.” 

“ I understand that since then we, as the Pacific 
Section, have had a meeting ? ” said the person who had 
first suggested that the Chairman should go over what 
had passed at the general meeting in London. 

“ Yes,” answered the dignified-looking man ; “ the 
first, second, and third clauses there resolved themselves, 
with quite a dramatic suddenness, into one, and having 
full power in our own department we acted accordingly.” 

“ Ah yes,” drawled the questioner reflectively, blow- 
ing a cloud of cigar smoke into the air and watching it 
float upwards. “ You are quite correct, Herr Buelon, and 
you put the matter very plainly. All the Pacific Sec- 
tion’s business seems to have become centred on what 
at first looked hardly worth our attention. The greatest 
organisation of modern times, as you term our society, 
has indeed met with its first serious opposition.” The 
speaker paused languidly, and blew more smoke into 
the air. 

“ Do you think that the Insurance people will cause 
more than the usual trouble over the Cinderella affair?” 
asked Slippery Charlie. 

“ Oh no ; I wasn’t thinking of them. They simply 


15 2 


The Pearl Seekers 


do not pay the money, and there the matter will end so 
far as they are concerned.” 

“ Then surely you don’t think we can’t find that 
mysterious island ? ” said the man who had stolen the 
chart. 

“ We’ll get on the track of those confounded boys 
sooner or later, Sir Robert, and the rest will be a simple 
matter,” added the fourth member of the group. 

“Will it?” said he thus addressed as Sir Robert 
lazily. “ Now, do you know, Crosswood, I rather fancy 
we’ll have no trouble about finding those boys. My 
fear is that they will find us. It is those boys them- 
selves that I put down as the chief factor in our opposi- 
tion. Just think how they have burst into our schemes, 
like — like ” 

“ Like lambs into a lion’s den,” laughed the chart- 
stealer. “ We’ll soon stop their brilliant career ” 

Sir Robert took his cigar from his mouth and looked 
curiously at the last speaker. “ I think you are talking 
like a first-class fool, Bankstone,” he said. “ Do you 
imagine for one moment that we can so easily dispose 
of a combination, youthful or not, that beat both you 
and Charlie in Worchester, and then baffled the best 
men we had at home, and cleared out without so much as 
one of our fellows with them for Australia?” 

“ We are in the South Seas now,” said Bankstone 
significantly. 

“ — And who immediately on landing ran full tilt 
against our local branch, and bought, raised, manned, 
and sailed the Cinderella before our people in Sydney 
knew whom they had to deal with.” 

“ I don’t think the people who raised the Cinderella 
meant to measure their strength with ours when they 


Enemies 


*53 


bought the Cinderella ” said Herr Buelon. “ They 
couldn’t have known of our existence, or they would have 
simply published their knowledge in the papers.” 

“No one would believe them,” said Slippery Charlie. 
“ Who would listen to such an absurd story as the facts 
about our society would appear to be? No one in his 
senses would believe that a syndicate of adventurers 
whose influence reached the whole world round, and 
whose exploits in the way of wrecking and filibustering 
had realised millions, could exist in these days of swift 
cruisers, cables, and Marconigrams, to say nothing of 
long-range guns. No, gentlemen, the boys knew better 
than to give themselves away — that is, if they did 
happen to know anything about us, which I can scarcely 
credit, for how could they get their information ? ” 

“ Then how do you explain the fact that they knew 
the position of our island ? ” asked Sir Robert. “ It 
seems to me that, leaving alone the question of how 
much they really know of us, they know of the 
island, and their actions prove that they are quite 
prepared for powerful opposition, and believe they can 
win.” 

“ I doubt if they knew of any special island,” said 
Banks' *ne. “ There was absolutely nothing marked 
on their' chart, and the cables received at Cooktown said 
the Mahreno passed the Cinderella bound east, which 
could only mean *hat she was making for New Cale- 
donia, the Fijis, or the eastern Pacific, and we know the 
island is not in that direction.” 

“ Perhaps not,” said Sir Robert. “ Still, IT1 go a 
thousand that the boys find it. By the way, there is 
an animal of some kind behind those boxes. I can hear 
it breathing.” 


i54 The Pearl Seekers 

“ Wild cat, probably,” said Crosswood. “ This is- 
land is swarming with them.” 

“ Let us to business, then, gentlemen,” cried the 
Chairman. “ What have we to do with wild cats, unless 
they happen to be fictitious gold-mines? The Cinderella 
did not come through Indispensable Strait, for we were 
there awaiting her, and it therefore follows that she has 
gone farther east. But let us dismiss her from our 
thoughts and see if we can’t discover the island for our- 
selves. We know it is somewhere south of the line, on 
the meridian of one hundred and fifty-eight degrees, five 
minutes.” 

“ And we have sailed that meridian,” said Cross- 
wood, “ from the Solomons to the equator and found 
nothing. This is the only island near the supposed 
position. It lies in one hundred and fifty-eight degrees 
thirty minutes, but there is not enough shell round its 
beaches to keep half-a-dozen beach-combers working.” 

“ And are you quite certain that there ever was such 
an island, and that its shell deposits were so great ? ” 
inquired Sir Robert. 

“ There is no doubt about that. Captain Grenvillq 
seemed to have known of it before, and sailed straight 
to it. Preston, the owner of the Southern Cross , and 
he were to work it between them, whether they could 
get a concession from the Germans or not. I saw 
some of the shells which a Manilla diver on board 
brought up, and I certainly never saw their equal in 
size before. It was then about time to act for the 
Syndicate, so next morning we disposed of those who 
stood in our way, the chief engineer sticking to Captain 
Grenville and Mr. Preston. After that we hid the ship, 
scattered some wreckage in the track of the Canadian- 


Enemies 


i55 

Australian line, and got ourselves picked up as ship- 
wrecked mariners. You know the rest. Grenville had 
not marked the latitude on his chart, and I could only 
guess at it; but the fact remains that we have never 
found it, and we have had our base established here for 
the last four years.” 

“ But it does exist ? ” The speaker was Sir Robert. 

“ I saw it,” returned Crosswood. “ It was an ex- 
tremely low-lying coral island about a mile and a half 
in diameter, with a lagoon which occupied about three- 
quarters of its area. There was no vegetation upon it, 
and its surface was covered with guano deposits, but 
around its shores lay the largest pearl beds I have ever 
known.” 

“ It seems to me that this island is worth more to 
us than anything else on our programme just now,” 
remarked the Chairman. “ And as we are assured it 
is something more tangible than a dream -” 

“ Crosswood never dreamt in his life,” laughed Slip- 
pery Charlie. “ He is too thoroughly practical.” 

“ — We must find it,” continued Herr Buelon. “ There- 
fore we will take stores on board and sail east and west 
in parallel courses from the fifth degree of latitude, 
north to the line. If we can’t find it by that method, 
then I fear we shall have to depart from our rule some- 
what, and use some kind of persuasion to induce Cap- 
tain Grenville Dear me ! I am sure I heard some- 

thing that was not a wild cat behind those cases. Go 
and see what it is, some one.” 

“ I shouldn’t wonder if those marvellous boys we’ve 
heard so much of were there,” said Bankstone sarcas- 
tically. “ Perhaps they dropped from a flying-machine, 
and knowing we were coming here to hold a meeting, 


156 The Pearl Seekers 

free from possible eavesdroppers on board, hid behind 
those boxes to hear what we had to say.” 

“ Then why don’t you go and see ? ” suggested Sir 
Robert. “ I would if I were afraid. But not being in 
a state of nerves, and this desirable storeroom smelling a 
trifle of — well — many things, I am going out to have 
a look round this little piece of Pacific Paradise which 
we have defiled by our presence.” 

“ I want a breath of fresh air too,” said Herr Bue- 
lon. “ That odour of — of — I don’t know what, has 
become simply unbearable these last few minutes.” 

“Whew!” ejaculated Slippery Charlie, running to 
the door. “Even smelliferous Jerusalem is nothing to 
this. What on earth is the meaning of it?” 

“ Decomposing wild cats, I suppose,” said Bankstone, 
who had been turning over some of the boxes. “ By 
Jemimah ! but it is powerful, and is getting worse.” 

“ Don’t stir it up any more just now then,” said 
Herr Buelon. “ Let us get outside. We can send over 

-some men to overhaul the place and — oh ” He 

rushed from the apartment, and the others hurriedly 
followed him. Then the two boys and Kotay rose from 
their cramped position and looked at each other. 

“ Kotay no understand everything,” spoke the latter, 
“ but I think it time we no be here.” 

“ I agree with you,” said Tom, “ but how are we to 
get away ? ” 

“ Get outside and run for it,” suggested Thomson. 
“ We can surely run faster than they.” 

“ And be shot before we had gone very far,” said 
Tom. “ But we can’t stay here in any case. That 
smell is fearful, and the crew of the yacht will be 
over here some time to-day to investigate the cause of 
it.” 


Enemies 


i57 


“ I’ll tell you,” burst in Thomson, who had walked 
cautiously to the barred window space. “ They’ve all 
gone along the shore to the right. Why should we 
not rush their boat? It is beached only a hundred 
yards away. We could then pull round to our own 
harbour, and they would have to follow us around the 
beach or get another boat from the ship.” 

“ And then they would know all about us,” said 
Tom, “ and most probably come round and seize the 
Cinderella and kill us all, or at least maroon us on some 
desolate spot where we should never be heard of again. 
No, David. We have unknowingly run against an enor- 
mously powerful secret society that evidently has 
branches all over the world, and we must take extreme 
care of ourselves just now, for on us depend the lives 
of many people, among whom, as you heard, are my 
father and possibly also Mr. Preston.” 

“ Other fellows have gone round corner,” said Kotay, 
who had crawled along the side of the house to see 
where the men went. “ We can clear now. My word ! ” 

“ Yes, I believe we can,” agreed Tom, looking out 
carefully. “ They are out of sight now on our right, 
and if we can only gain the shelter of the undergrowth 
we are safe.” 

“ Then let us make a break for it,” cried Thomson. 
“ They may come back any minute.” 

“ Come then. Keep close into the walls until we 
see whether we shall be observed or not, and then run 

for the nearest scrub But wait a minute. They 

have a large supply of very fine revolvers here. Prob- 
ably they stole them, so I see no reason why we shouldn’t 
have one each — we may need them.” 

“ I’ve got my pockets filled already,” said Kotay. 
“ Thought you might want shooters.” 


i5« 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Then IT1 have a good one for myself,” said Thom- 
son, running back into the house, “ and Kotay’s lot 
will help to give us an armoury on the Cinderella ” 
He came back in less than a minute, and the trio went 
out through the open doorway. 

“ That smell inside is not nearly so bad now,” Thom- 
son remarked as Kotay crawled round the end of the 
house to see if the coast was clear. 

“ Not very likely,” answered the Jap, overhearing 
the question. “ I stopy up tin again.” 

“What do you mean, Kotay?” asked Tom, as the 
little man stood upright and signalled that all was clear. 

“ Oh, Kotay think them fellows stay too long, so 
I job my knife into tin of cabbage I could see through 
box. Him make them clear out quick and lively, you 
bet — tinned cabbage make fine smell when let out. But 
other fellows away now. We can git.” 

“ Then git! ” said Tom. “ Make for that dense part 
beside that palm tree.” 

And they did. Kotay was the first to reach the wel- 
come shelter of the timber, and was leisurely filling a 
very old and dilapidated pipe when the boys arrived. 

“ Have drink from water-bag, an’ here one biscuit 
I stole,” he remarked, unslinging his water-bag and 
producing a handful of biscuits. 

“ Kotay, you are a wonder ! ” exclaimed Thomson. 
“ I am both hungry and thirsty.” And Tom also ex- 
pressed his approval of Kotay’s little theft. 

Five minutes later they were skirting the vegetation 
towards the gully through which they had come down, 
and suddenly the huge shark they had killed burst into 
view, a cloud of birds hovering near it. 

“ Oh, that will give us away ! ” exclaimed Tom. 


Enemies 


159 


“ When they see that shark they will know that someone 
is on the island besides themselves.” 

“ No blooming fear,” rejoined Kotay, whose Eng- 
lish, although wonderfully good, comprised many slang 
terms. “ Them fellow-birds will have him eat up soon, 
and dead shark smell a lot badder than tinned cabbage 
anyhow. Other fellows no come along o’ smell like 
what him be to-morrow.” 

This knowledge was partly reassuring, and the trio 
passed on and soon broke into the semi-underground 
passage. Once inside the cool shelter of the covered 
gully, the boys breathed freely for the first time since 
knowing that they were not alone on the island. They 
had not yet spoken of what they had heard nor of 
what they thought, any more than the few words before 
leaving the storehouse, nor did they seem inclined to do 
so now. Each was trying to piece things together in 
his own way, and as yet the full purport of what they 
had heard had not dawned upon them. 

“ Let us run, boys,” cried Tom. “ The sooner we let 
Captain Inglis know what we have heard the better it 
will be for ourselves. I say, David, I never felt so glad 
before that we have such a man as Inglis with us. He 
will know at once what to do, and we’ll best these pro- 
fessional wreckers, or pirates, or whatever they like to 
call themselves, yet.” 

“ But, Tom, it seems we haven’t found our island 
after all,” said Thomson as they ran. “ This is not it, 
according to Kotay and that fellow Crosswood.” 

“ We’ll have to leave it all to Captain Inglis, David. 
It all seems beyond my comprehension at present. When 
we get together we’ll reason the thing out. One thing 
I feel certain of now is that Richard’s father and my 


160 The Pearl Seekers 

father are alive somewhere, and probably Richard’s sis- 
ter and their chief engineer as well. Another thing we 
now know too is that our island does exist somewhere, 
and the whole matter is reduced to the question — Who 
will find it first? I am sorry now we didn’t bring along 
that quick-firing gun Captain Inglis spoke of. We may 
have some fighting before long.” 

“ Then all the more fun, Tom. We can sail round 
inside the outer reef and take all sorts of fighting 
machinery from that treasure trove we have just left.” 

But it was a different matter running up the hill, 
even although in a tunnel, from what it was coming 
down, and the boys found they were unable to sustain 
a conversation. Soon, too, they reached the limit of 
their powers of endurance, for, after being such a long 
time at sea, they were not very well suited for running 
up hillsides. It was different with Kotay, however; he 
ran on when the boys were forced to walk, and when 
they reached the shoulder of the hill where the ravine 
split into two, he was just descending from the tree 
whence they had obtained their first view of the beach 
that morning. 

“ Other .fellows- going out to ship now,” he said, 
hiding a telescope he had appropriated while in the 
strange depot, somewhere about his person. “ I no’ 
know what gully we go down now.” 

_ “ But I do,” said Tom, taking out his pocket com- 
pass. “ That is our road over there. Go ahead if you 
can, Kotay, and tell the Captain to get every one on 
board as soon as possible.” 

Kotay nodded and at once started off at a rapid 
rate, and after resting a moment the boys did likewise. 
They paused at the water-hole to take a drink, but 


Enemies 


161 


this time the walking fish and other freaks of nature 
which surrounded and dwelt in the pool attracted no 
attention from them, and without delay they continued 
their journey. About half-way down a smaller water- 
course joined their gully, and thence their path was 
alongside a gently trickling stream. Kotay had run 
through the water, the splashing he made being still 
visible upon the hard lava sides. As they neared the 
bottom the ravine seemed to open out into a valley, 
and suddenly the vegetation over their heads ceased, 
and they emerged on the beach at the head of a small 
bay. The Cinderella lay moored alongside the banks 
in front of hem. 

There seemed to be no one on board, and the boys 
ran up the gangway and proceeded to the Captain’s 
room. He was not there; but just then Stansbury came 
on deck from below, with Kotay at his heels talking 
volubly, but, judging from the expression on the officer’s 
face, in a manner quite unintelligible. 

“Where is Captain Inglis?” cried Tom, as they 
went up to him. “We must prepare for departure at 
once.” 

“ Captain Inglis has not returned yet,” answered 
Stansbury. “ He and Mr. Preston went away early this 
morning. We thought you were all together. Has 
anything happened ? ” 

“ Yes ; this is not our island. It is the headquarters 
of a gang of adventurers, and they are on it now. It 
was their ship we passed the other night, and they are 
now here and looking for us.” 

“ Oh, then I suppose we’ll make for the open sea ? 
I’ll gather in these Manillamen and get steam up di- 
rectly.” He rushed into the forecastle, and Powell and 

(b 761) L 


162 The Pearl Seekers 

Davis emerged from the engine-room covered with dirt 
and grease. 

“ Hullo, boys ! you’ve got back,” cried the former. 
“ We’ve been packing glands and overhauling the en- 
gines generally all day. You two will have to stay at 
home and let us get out to-morrow — that is, of course, 
if we don’t start to load up with pearl shell.” 

“ I am afraid we’ll all have to be at home to-morrow,” 
said Tom, and then he made his two comrades acquainted 
with what they had experienced that day. Thomson 
meanwhile had rushed to the engine-room, and seeing 
that everything was right there, he then visited the stoke- 
hole and assisted the firemen, who had just been aroused 
from sleep, to get things in order in their domain so as 
to have steam at the earliest moment. When he had 
seen to all matters pertaining to the engineering depart- 
ment, he next went to look for Ah Sing the cook, and at 
the pantry met Tom bent on a similar mission. 

But the genial cook was not there, and the boys made 
havoc of some edible compound he had prepared for the 
evening meal. When they regained the deck Stansbury 
and the Kanaka crew had cast off the moorings and 
raised the gangway, and all was ready for departure the 
moment the Captain and Richard returned. It was now 
about four o’clock, and the afternoon sun was already 
casting long shadows across the waters of the inlet. 

“ I suppose we cannot risk firing our signal gun ? ” 
said Stansbury. “ It would bring the Captain along 
sooner than anything else.” 

“ But it would be heard all over the island,” re- 
sponded Tom; “ and it would bring a pirate craft along, 
too, with modern quick-firers and a cut-throat crew.” 

“ Wha’ fo’ some you hungly fellow no come helpy 


Enemies 


163 

me bling pigs along o’ me ? ” cried a voice from the 
shore, and Ah Sing appeared with a struggling and 
grunting piggery in his train. 

“ I thought you were on board, Ah Sing,” said 
Stansbury. “ What have you got there ? ” 

“ Wild pigs. Hims good eat. Catchy allee lot. Wha’ 
fo’ some lazy fellow no come help me ? ” 

He was now in full view, and when those on deck 
saw his method of keeping his unruly captives near him 
they could not help laughing, although they all scrambled 
down the rope ladder to his assistance. He had over 
a dozen wild pigs in tow, but in a manner certainly 
original, for he was hauling them along tails first, having 
tied each pig’s appendage to one end of a rope, the 
other end of which he was pulling over his shoulder. 
The pigs had evidently been struck with the novelty 
of their situation at first, and had come so far in a 
fairly tractable mood ; but how Ah Sing had manipulated 
them through the scrub was more than the boys could 
understand. Now, however, frightened by the sight of 
the boat, or perhaps thinking they had gone far enough 
in such unpiglike fashion, they were objecting forcibly 
and noisily, and trying to run in all directions at once. 
Hence the Celestial’s predicament. 

The merriment of his would-be assistants did not 
appeal to Ah Sing. He did not see why he and his 
pigs should be subject for laughter. 

“ Wha’ you laf fo’? All vely good laf ’ now. No 
laf’ long no gettee flesh tuckel soon,” he cried indig- 
nantly, but his childlike face was entirely unmoved. 
“ Come ’long,” he shouted to the pigs, turning and 
administering a cut with his end of the rope over the 
back of one of the most refractory quadrupeds. “ You 


164 The Pearl Seekers 

think you get ’way, you big fool. Wha’ fo’ a fat pig 
like you hav’ so much talkee. You squealee vely soon.” 

“ How did you manage to catch them?” cried Tom, 
seizing the rope and helping Ah Sing in the tug of 
war. “ Some of us could have shot them if we had 
only thought of our need for fresh meat.” 

“ Allee same no good shoot,” replied the Chinamen. 
“ Shoot, no keep long, catch him alive, he keep allee time. 
Ah Sing climb out on blanch of tlee and drop a lope 
down with catch-him-tight loop on him, and rub lope 
with smell from Manillamen in stokehole. By an’ by 
along come pig; he smell lope, smell again, then put 
him head in loop. Ah Sing pull him tight ; pig squeal. 
No mattel, him make good tuckel, an’ him come along 
o’ me.” 

“ I don’t understand all you are saying,” observed 
Tom when Ah Sing had apparently reached the end 
of his recital. “ But I appreciate your foresight in pro- 
viding us with something to eat, for we are tired of 
tinned stuff.” 

Stansbury and Thomson thought the same, and threw 
their weight on the side of Ah Sing, and thus brought 
the pigs to the ship’s side. Slings were then hastily 
arranged, and the surprised and vociferous animals were 
hauled on deck by the Kanakas, and placed in- large 
crates that had previously contained poultry. When this 
was accomplished, Stansbury suggested moving the 
Cinderella to midstream, as some precaution against a 
night attack; and, as there was already sufficient steam 
up to take a few turns out of the engines, this was done. 
It was now dark, for the sun sets at six in equatorial 
latitudes, and the boys were much concerned for the 
safety of the Captain and Richard; but just as they had 


Enemies 


165 


almost concluded that something had happened, and 
that they had fallen into the hands of their enemies, a 
crackling of the undergrowths heralded the approach of 
some one, and the Captain’s voice hailed the ship. 

“ Hullo ! What’s the matter ? ” he cried. “ Why is 
the ship in midstream ? ” 

“ Because there is danger near, Captain,” Tom cried 
back. “ We’ll come for you in the dinghy.” 

“What has happened, Tom?” asked Richard anx- 
iously, as he and the Captain were being pulled out to 
the ship. “ We’ve had a remarkable experience our- 
selves, or we would have got back earlier.” 

“ The people who attempted to rob us in England, 
those who sank the Cinderella , and those who were 
watching for us down among the Solomons, are all mem- 
bers of the same gang. They are a syndicate of pirates, 
wreckers, and everything else, and I suspect — in fact, I 
know — that it was through their agency the Southern 
Cross and our parents were lost.” 

“ Go slow, young man,” said the Captain. “ You 
are excited. Pirates don’t exist in this century.” 

“ But they do,” cried Tom, “ and they are on this 
island now, and David and I and Kotay hid in their 
meeting-place to-day, and heard them discuss all sorts 
of things.” 

“ Just wait a minute until we get on board,” said 
the Captain. “ I guess we’ll have to get the hang of 
this affair as squarely as we can.” He seized the hang- 
ing ladder and scrambled on deck, and the others were 
not long after him. The boat was then swung to its 
place by the crew, and all waited to hear the engine 
bell give the order to depart. 

“ Shall I take her out, sir ? ” asked Stansbury, stand- 


The Pearl Seekers 


166 

ing on the bridge. “ I know the channel fairly well, for 
I rowed all over it to-day/’ 

“ Take her out? Who said that?” demanded the 
Captain. “Are we surrounded just now? What in 
the name of the Commonwealth is all the excitement 
about? You all seem to have lost your nerve. Switch 
on those lights, some one ; we are not pirates.” 

“ But they may see us,” said Tom. “ Had we not 
better make for the open sea, where we should at least 
have a good chance ” 

“ Of going to the bottom ; and you may bet the 
Cinderella won’t come up a second time,” broke in the 
Captain. “ Our pirate friends don’t cruise about these 
waters on a craft that can’t keep out of gun range of 
German gunboats, and if they really want us they would 
soon overhaul us, fast and all as the Cinderella is for her 
size. But let us have the whole story now while Ah 
Sing is getting ready something to eat. You boys that 
already know everything, divide yourselves round the 
ship. Take rifles from the armoury and shoot at any- 
thing you see or hear that comes down to the shore. 
Now, go ahead.” 

The Captain and Richard seated themselves on the 
rail, and Tom related all their experiences, the others, 
except Thomson who stood by in the engine-room, keep- 
ing strict watch that no one approached from the shore. 

The Captain remained silent for a space after Tom 
had finished his story ; then he remarked musingly, 
“ So we are playing a big game after all. Captain Inglis, 
I can see your mother spending her days in comfort in 
Manly now, and your name good for a command any- 
where. Anyhow, you’ll be able to spend a half-crown 
without worrying much, after this is through. Oh, I 


Enemies 167 

beg your pardon, gentlemen, I was allowing my fancy 
to carry me away.” 

I fear it could only have been fancy, Captain,” 
said Tom sadly, “ if you were conjuring up visions of 
great wealth. We have not yet found our island, and 
how can we hope to do so now when these other people 
can’t? And even allowing we did get it, how could we 
defend ourselves? We can’t get any protection, for no 
one would believe our story, as I heard one of the 
pirates remark to-day, and we should simply go to swell 
the list of their previous victims.” 

“ Look here, young man,” replied the Captain. “ You 
are ill. You are not the person I knew down in Sydney 
who bossed things as if he cared for neither man nor 
devil. You came out from England to find an island 
whose surrounding waters were rich in pearl shell. We 
are ten days from Sydney now, and have travelled over 
two thousand miles in that time, and yet you are in the 
blues.” 

“ I confess I am, Captain. Perhaps my nerves are 
unstrung, but disappointment has met us to-day for — 
excepting when we reached the supposed position of the 
island — the first time, and I don’t know how to tell the 
others.” 

“ Don’t worry about that, Tom,” said Richard, who 
had been thinking deeply. “ I am of opinion that Fate 
led us here. Captain Inglis and I made a startling dis- 
covery to-day which fills me with hope that I can scarcely 
yet bring myself to put into words. We found the ruins 
of a house on the beach at the south end of the island, 
and near it was a ship’s boat bearing the name Southern 
Cross. I thought we had found out too late where my 
father and sister and your father had been wrecked, and 


1 68 


The Pearl Seekers 


that they had perished, but Captain Inglis says that prob- 
ably they still live, and that they have removed to some 
other part of the island to avoid the frequent outbursts 
of ashes from the mountain overhead. Certainly every- 
thing pointed to a methodical removal.” 

“ Then you really think, Richard, that our people 
are still alive and on this island ? ” 

“ Say, young man, you had better go to bed, and be 
able to boss things to-morrow afternoon. I know where 
your island is, and we’ll be digging — I mean diving for 
pearls then. Adventurers’ Syndicate agreeable or not. 
When we get a cargo of shell we’ll come back here, and 
while the crew are opening them we’ll hunt all over the 
island and find your people if they are here, for I am 
certain they are alive, and, from what you have told us 
to-night, I reckon things are going to boom in this part 
of the world directly. Put out the lights, boys. Every- 
thing is safe for the night, for no ship can come in that 
channel while that red glare from the peak above casts 
those shadows over the water, and I reckon we can ac- 
count for those who come overland ourselves. I’ll bet 
my dinner, however, and I’m hungry, they don’t know 
anything about us, and if they did they would be a good 
bit more skeered than we are. Come along, boys, there 
is Ah Sing waiting; he is afraid to ring his gong; the 
whole ship has caught the infection! Let her go, Ah 
Sing.” 

Ah Sing’s gong sounded out in the still night air 
with startling suddenness. 


CHAPTER VIII 


On the Pearl Beds 

Tom was awakened next morning by the clanging of 
the engine-room bell, and hastily dressing, went out on 
deck to see what was happening. The first flush of 
dawn was just appearing in the east, and the glare of 
the burning mountain was slowly dissolving into day- 
light. The air was cool and laden with fragrance, and as 
the shadowy shores flitted past he thought for the mo- 
ment that he was in some other world. But the churn- 
ing of propellers and the beat of engines are not usually 
associated with spirit land, and there was no doubt about 
these familiar sounds. He turned suddenly and walked 
forward to the bridge. The Captain was there, and he 
could make out the form of Stansbury perched in the 
bows. 

“ Good morning, Captain/’ said Tom. “ You have 
decided on taking her out, after all ? ” 

The Captain turned slightly towards him, but kept 
his eyes fixed ahead on his course nevertheless. 

“ Good morning, sir/’ he responded. “ We didn’t 
expect you on deck for an hour yet. I trust you are 
feeling better this morning.” 

“ Very much better, thank you ; I feel fit for anything 
now. Can I do anything?” 

“ You can go back to bed till breakfast- time and not 
worry us here until we get through the reef.” 

169 


170 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ But, Captain, I do not think you have any reason 
to talk to me like that.” 

“ I don’t mean the slightest disrespect ; but I under- 
took to see you through this affair, and as Stansbury 
and I are the only paid officers on this ship we mean to 
do as much as we can ourselves. Come on deck at ten 
o’clock, and if I haven’t grown fat-headed I’ll show you 
your pearling grounds. Powell is in the engine-room, 
and no one else is required to sail this ship at present.” 

“ But you can have no objection to my remaining on 
deck if I do not trouble you ? ” 

“ None, if you do not trouble yourself. Ah, there’s 
the lagoon now.” The Cinderella swept into the open 
water and headed for the surf-portalled break in the 
outer reef, and the sun shot up over the trees behind 
them. “ If you are going to stay on deck, sir,” continued 
the Captain, addressing Tom, “ get your glasses, and 
watch the beach for any sign of habitation. We are 
going to sail round this island before going out to sea.” 

“ But the other people ?” 

“ Cleared out westward during the night. I came 
down here myself in the dinghy and saw them go, and 
I now want to find out where they got through the 
outside reef, for our future benefit.” 

“ They didn’t come through. They lay off, and came 
ashore in a small boat, which they must have dragged 
over the outer reef.” 

“ Oh, in that case I suppose they couldn’t come 
through the way we came, and there will not be another 
break in the reef. Their craft must draw more water 
than the Cinderella , and I reckon that fact will give them 
some trouble before long.” 

“ There is the shark Kotay killed,” cried Tom, as the 


On the Pearl Beds 17 1 

vessel sailed on in the glassy waters inside the outer reef. 

“ And there is our friends’ house/’ said Captain 
Inglis. “ We’ll pay it a visit and borrow one of their 
big guns some day soon.” 

“ I can’t see it yet,” said Tom, in surprise. “ Can 
you really make it out, Captain ? ” 

“ Not exactly, but I can see the tracks they made 
last night leading up to a bluff on shore, and I’ll bet 
all I’m worth the house is behind that somewhere.” The 
Captain was right, as was afterwards proved, but no 
indication of the house itself was visible, and in a day 
or so the tracks on the beach would also be obliterated. 
Tom did not know what the Captain’s plans were, nor 
what he hoped to gain by sailing round the island, but 
knowing there was some idea in course of evolution in 
the man’s mind, and that he wished to be left severely 
alone — a sure sign, as the boys had already discovered, 
that he was thinking out some deep problem, — he walked 
to the stern and swept the mainland and outer reef al- 
ternately with his powerful glasses. But he saw nothing 
to warrant him calling the Captain’s attention. The 
mainland showed nothing to indicate that any human 
beings dwelt thereon, and the outer reef stretched un- 
brokenly, enveloped in a cloud of snowy surf, as far as 
he could see. 

An hour passed, and Thomson joined him on deck, 
and then Jack, and finally Richard. To each Tom ex- 
plained all that he knew ; but Thomson, whose disposition 
was fiery, did not seem to see matters in the same light 
as his partners, and would straightway have raised trou- 
ble by asking Captain Inglis what he meant by his 
tactics, had not the others restrained him. Tom and 
Richard examined the land carefully, with feelings they 


172 


The Pearl Seekers 


could not have well expressed. They did not regard 
the circumnavigation of the island as a waste of time, 
tor they now believed that their parents, and perhaps 
others, were hidden in its dense forests somewhere. 

Another hour passed, during which the Cinderella 
had rounded the northern end of the island ; but every- 
thing remained the same: the outer reef seemed to 
form a complete barrier all round, against which the 
surf thundered perpetually; the smooth dark-blue waters 
inside lazily lapped the pink coral beach, and the fringe 
of white shells inlaying the latter where it merged into 
the vegetation of the forest completed the colouring of 
the picture. The peak which formed the culminating 
point of the island appeared to be the only object on 
which any change could be observed. Its sides were 
steeper, and there seemed to be a patch of low-lying 
forest-land between its base and the beach. They had 
now almost completed their circle, and were nearing 
the southern end, when the ruins of the house the Cap- 
tain and Richard had seen the day before burst into full 
view, and Tom and Richard knew that they were looking 
at a spot where their people had been alive, perhaps only 
recently. 

“ Why can’t we go ashore and hunt round ? ” said 
Jack. “ If you think your father and Richard’s father 
and sister were cast away on this part of the island, 
why not let us all go and look for them ? ” 

“ We’ll do that when the proper times comes,” spoke 
the Captain’s voice behind them, “but we cannot risk 
leaving the Cinderella until we have taken precautions 
against the return of our other friends. In any case, if 
there are people marooned on this island they will see 
the signals at our masthead and any sailor will know 


On the Pearl Beds 


173 


what they mean.” The Captain had evidently arrived 
at a solution of the problem which had been occupying 
his thoughts since daylight, or he would not voluntarily 
have left Stansbury on the bridge and joined the part- 
ners. “ These signals which Stansbury ran up at sun- 
rise read, ‘ We are coming back — Show lights until re- 
turn — Friends on board/ ” continued the Captain, “ and 
if Captain Grenville is there you -can bet he sees them, 
for a sailor is always on the look-out. — I suppose you 
will be requesting me to give up my ticket, sir ? ” he said, 
suddenly turning to Tom ; “ I wasn’t over polite to you 
this morning.” 

“ I am not a small school-boy, Captain,” responded 
Tom, “ that I should take offence at anything you said. 
You were the only one on board who kept his head 
last night, and while we were sleeping you risked your 
life in our interests by going out to watch our enemies 
No, Captain, my partners and I appreciate you too much 
for any of us to feel aggrieved at not being addressed 
as if we were — shall we say — members of your Com- 
monwealth Parliament ? ” 

“ Not by many miles,” the Captain laughed, “ that’s 
not what you meant to say, I’ll bet. Members of the 
Federal House ! Why, those poor beggars have to stand 
cheek from every one in the continent of Australia. Oh 
no, I wouldn’t speak to Ah Sing or the Kanakas as they 
are spoken to. But do you know why we came round 
this island, boys ? ” 

“To look for signs of habitation?” said Richard. 

“ Well, no, I did not think there was much use in 
doing that until we had got the whip hand of the pirate 
crowd. By the way, I don’t know if I ever told you 
that Penfold got hold of a yarn about these fellows. He 
tol.d it to me, thinking you boys were part of the gang, 


i74 


The Pearl Seekers 


but I laughed at the story. Anyhow, they’re real 
enough, and it was to find out how we might be able to 
best them that we came round here, and I reckon we can 
just about do it too.” 

“ Explain, Captain, please,” said Richard. 

“ Well, you have seen for yourselves that there is 
no break in that outer reef anywhere except where we 
came through, and we’ll be up there again in less than 
half an hour. That shows that the other fellows can’t 
bring their craft inshore anywhere without coming 
through that gap, and as it was all the Cinderella could 
do to make the passage, it can only be by a tight fit that 
their ship can manage, for she is about three times our 
size.” 

“ I don’t quite see your point, Captain,” observed 
Thomson. 

“ Why, it’s simple enough. Haul some of the guns 
they’ve got in that armoury of theirs up the hillside and 
train them on the gap, and when they try to come 
through blow them out of the water.” 

“ But that would be murder. We dare not fire upon 
ships like that,” said Tom. 

u We don’t need. When they come near the gap 
land a couple of shells right in the middle and they’ll 
sheer off quick enough. Anyhow, we can stick up a 
notice warning them off, and I don’t fancy they’ll risk 
our being afraid to fire on them.” 

“ But they can come ashore in the night in their 
boats ? ” 

“ Which they will be a bit chary of doing, for they’ll 
never dream that we are so weak, and skunks like them 
don’t like taking any chances in cases where they might 


On the Pearl Beds 


i7S 

get hit back. Besides, we need a depot ourselves, where 
we can open our shell.” 

“ Ah, and that reminds me, Captain,” interrupted 
Tom. “What about our island? There is not enough 
shell in this lagoon to pay our working it, and what, 
therefore, is the use of our defending this island ? ” 

“ Because, as I have said, we need a depot. There 
does not happen to be any dry land to spare where your 
own island is, else our friends the wreckers would have 
found it long ago, and we can use this place for dis- 
charging our cargoes and opening the shell. Our pearl- 
ing grounds are only a couple of hours’ sail away, or 
I’ll admit that I haven’t enough savy to be in command 
of a tram car. There’s the gap in the reef now ; excuse 
me, boys, I’ll take her through myself — you can get your 
diving gear ready.” 

The Captain strode forward, and the partners en- 
deavoured to puzzle out the meaning of what he had 
said. But now they were off the inlet which had shel- 
tered them since Sunday, and which they had cleared 
that morning, and all prepared to watch the passage of 
the Cinderella through the outer reef towards which she 
had headed. “ Half speed ” rang the engine bell, and 
instantly the watchful Powell responded. Gallantly the 
ship glided on with decreased momentum until the deep 
booming sound of the baffled surf swelled into a thunder- 
ous discordant roar. Then “ Stop ” rang the telegraph, 
and immediately after, “ Full speed astern.” 

“We are grounded!” cried Thomson. “We are 
going astern.” 

“ No, we’re not,” said Richard. “ The Captain is 
experimenting, that’s all.” But further conversation 


176 


The Pearl Seekers 

was impossible, for they were in the heart of a wall of 
boiling spray which broke over the deck and drenched 
every one. The boys heard the sharp tinkle of the 
engine-room bell again, and then Stansbury ran past 
them and did something at the stern of the ship. They 
had stopped in the middle of the passage. Again the 
bell rang out above the deafening roar, and suddenly 
the wall of foam was left in the rear, and the sun poured 
its merciless rays down upon the steaming deck. While 
yet they stood watching the swiftly receding reef, the 
Captain came up to them, and Stansbury again took the 
bridge. 

“It is just as I thought, boys,” the Captain said. 
“ I risked stopping in the gap to see what water we had 
underneath. There is barely three fathoms in the centre, 
so I don’t think that any ship bigger than our own will 
ever come through that channel. My ! I’m hungry.” 

As if waiting for some one to express this senti- 
ment, Ah Sing appeared in the companion-way and 
summoned them to breakfast. When the meal was over, 
the crew, acting under orders from the Captain, opened 
the hatches and brought up all the appliances that had 
been put on board at Sydney in connection with pearling 
plant, and the partners found themselves carefully going 
over the various parts and fittings of their patent diver 
with an enthusiasm which they had not felt since the 
raising of the ship they were on from the bottom of the 
sea. Air-pipes, telephone wires, ropes, and everything 
necessary were soon attached; and then, although none 
would have admitted the fact, they began estimating 
the space the shells would take up, and how many tons 
the Cinderella could carry away. Somehow they felt 
that Fortune was about to smile on them, and the fact 


On the Pearl Beds 


177 


that their island was not yet visible, although Captain 
Inglis had said they would arrive an hour after break- 
fast, did not seem to trouble them. 

“ It will be low-lying,” said Tom; “ just a coral reef 
I suppose, and we’ll not see it until we are on it.” 

“We must be pretty near the spot where we first 
looked for our island,” remarked Richard, as they con- 
gregated in the bows to look out for their promised land. 
“ We’ve been sailing west all the time.” 

“ Stop ! ” suddenly rang out the engine-room bell, and 
the thud of the engines ceased and the Cinderella cleaved 
the waters silently. Soon she came to rest, and, before 
the boys could grasp the meaning of the stopping, the 
Captain shouted out a command to the crew, and with a 
whirr the anchor was dropped overboard. 

“Well, boys, are you ready?” asked the Captain. 
“ We’re there ! ” 

“ What ! ” cried Tom. “ I thought you knew where 
the island was ? ” 

“ Well, I’ve brought you to it. Are you going to 
haul it up, or do you intend to take the shell up only ? ” 

“ I don’t understand you, Captain,” said Tom. 
“ Surely you are not jesting.” 

“ Certainly not. This spot is exactly where you first 
meant to come, and Captain Grenville made no mistake 
when he said there was an island here. There was ; but 
it has gone down since he saw it, as I ought to have 
thought at first. Your oysters are on its ledges just the 
same, however, and as it has not yet sunk very far you 
will still be able to work them, and we can take the shell 
back to our depot for sorting and cleaning. — Well, Kotay, 
what is it? ” Captain Inglis turned to the Japanese, who 
had been trying to attract the attention of the boys for 

(b 761) M 


178 


The Pearl Seekers 


some time. He seemed very much afraid of the Captain, 
however, and dodged back into the companion-way when 
the latter addressed him. 

“ I think he wants to tell us something,” said Tom ; 
“ T 11 go and hear what he has to say.” 

“ If he hasn’t something worth telling,” growled the 
Captain, “ I’ll set him to wash up for Ah Sing. He has 
no right to come on this deck; his place is forward.” 

“ What a martinet you are, Captain,” laughed Rich- 
ard, dropping a sounding-line over the side. “ He is not 
a bad little fellow at all.” 

“ There is not going to be any socialistic business on 
this ship,” answered the Captain ; “ he is only the steward 
and must be kept in his place. A fine thing it would be 
if the Kanaka crew and the Manilla firemen were to walk 
on the same deck as the Captain and owners. They 
would want to sit at the same table next.” 

“ Kotay says there is a very rich oyster bed on our 
starboard quarter,” said Tom, rejoining the party. 

“ Indeed,” said the Captain. “ How does he know? ” 

“ Plenty shark there — see fins now. He live where 
plenty sea-snake, ’cos he feed on them,” put in Kotay, 
coming forward hesitatingly at Tom’s request. “ Look, 
lot of sea-snake over there.” 

“ But what in thunder have sea-snakes to do with 
oysters ? ” asked the Captain. 

“ He live near oyster bed, ’cos he like make good feed 
on oyster,” answered the little man simply. " I know, 
and would like to help bosses. I blamed good diver.” 

“ The water on this side is only six fathoms deep,” 
cried Richard ; “ but it is getting deeper.” 

“ It is only three fathoms here,” said Jack excitedly 
from the starboard side. 


On the Pearl Beds 


179 


“ By the Commonwealth! but the Jap knows what he 
is talking about/’ said the Captain. “ Where are the 
most oysters, Kotay ? ” 

“ Down a long way over near that big fellow shark/’ 
answered the Jap. “ But it too deep there for diver. 
You put me into dress, I will go down over bows and 
get plenty shell. Think there is a good patch there not 
too deep.” 

“ Six fathoms here,” Stansbury called out from the 
bows. 

“ All right, boys,” said Tom. “ We have arrived at 
our destination at last, and before we are many minutes 
older we’ll know whether or not its pearl oyster deposits 
are what we expected or not.” 

“ It is a pity that we can’t step on to our island with- 
out getting wet,” observed Powell, coming from the en- 
gine-room. “ Who is going down first ? ” 

“ Let Kotay go first,” advised the Captain ; “ it 
doesn’t matter so much for him if anything happens.” 

“ Nothing will happen we have not already made 
all preparations for,” said Tom, at once becoming the 
man of action, and assuming his old manner of precise- 
ness. “ Thomson, I think you had better go first.” 

“ All right,” responded the engineer with alacrity. 
But suddenly his face fell; Jack was already inside the 
diving dress. 

“ I’m sorry to disappoint you, old man,” Jack cried, 
“ but I have been almost useless during the trip and ” 

“ Come out,” ordered Thomson. “ What do you 
know of pearl shell ? ” 

“ Nothing — and you ? ” 

“ Everything.” 

“ Let him go, David,” said Tom. “ Perhaps, after all. 


i8o The Pearl Seekers 

we need the engineers more on top, and you can go 
next.” 

“ It is a mean trick to play on a fellow,” muttered 
Thomson. /‘He’ll never cease letting us know he was 
the first to set foot on our island.” 

“ I’ll never mention the fact, David,” said his com- 
rade, and with that Thomson had to be content. The 
partners adjusted all the fittings finally, saw that the 
mercury was in its proper place, tried the air-pump, and 
spoke to Jack through the telephone. “ Are you all 
right?” Tom asked, and receiving an answer in the af- 
firmative the patent diver was hoisted on a crane and 
dropped overboard, the vessel meanwhile having been 
swung round to bring the part whence it was easiest to 
work the dress near where Kotay had indicated. 

The diver went down with a rush. Thomson and 
Richard manned the air-pumps, and a stream of escap- 
ing air-bubbles rose to the surface of the water. 

“Are you all right?” Tom asked through the tele- 
phone. 

“ I will be in a minute,” came the answer feebly ; “ I 
am very sick.” 

“ By Jupiter ! I had forgotten that,” said Thomson. 
“ Poor Jack ! ” 

But Jack soon recovered himself, and his first words 
were of wonderment and surprise. “ I am in a forest,” 
he spoke ; “ trees are all around me, and hundreds of 
funny fish are swimming under and over me — Oh, I see 
oyster shells, lots of them. I’ve got one over a foot in 
diameter. Lower a net so that I can send some up.” 

Tom repeated what he said to the others, and the 
Captain sent a weighted net down. 

“ You fellows have got the best of me now,” he 


On the Pearl Beds 


181 


remarked ; “ running along the bottom of the Pacific is 
a thing I never learned to do.” 

Meanwhile, to the diver below new scenes and flit- 
ting panorama were unfolding themselves. He stood on 
a coral floor, and all around him grew submarine plants 
of a symmetry and beauty he had never seen equalled on 
land. Great sprays of coral swayed in a gentle current, 
much the same as shrubbery would do in a garden when 
under the influence of a slight breeze. High above him 
rose a stately coral-tree with waving branches and deli- 
cate leaf-like tendrils, and beside him a large star-shaped 
mass of coral shot its points into the upper currents. 
At the base of this magnificent growth a cluster of 
enormous pearl oyster shells reposed, and remembering 
his business instinctively, he lifted them with his patent- 
lever grip from the bed whereon they had probably lain 
since the last typhoon stirred the depths in these latitudes. 
Some rainbow-hued sponge formations of gigantic size 
next met his view, and he raked them in with one of his 
forked arms. Instantly a swarm of beautifully-striped 
eel-like creatures swam forth and surrounded him. 
Their sinuous bodies were only about the thickness of a 
pencil, and from eighteen inches to two feet in length ; 
but Jack knew that these so called sea-snakes, however 
unpleasant they could make themselves to unprotected 
divers, were powerless to inconvenience him, and so ig- 
nored them. He found another bunch of shells under- 
neath where they had been lying, however, and as his net 
was now full he telephoned to those above to haul it up 
and lower it again. Thus the first-fruits of the long 
and carefully-planned expedition were fetid before the 
partners. The shells were all large, and Kotay, forget- 
ting his fear of the Captain, bounded forward when he 


182 


The Pearl Seekers 

saw them, exclaiming, “ Very good shell. My word ! 
best shell I ever know. Bet a dollar good pearl in that 
fellow; he is older than my father.” 

But already Jack was sending another net-load aloft, 
and as its contents were emptied on the deck the Captain's 
enthusiasm mastered his dignity, and he jumped down on 
the well-deck and began classing the shells himself. In 
this he was joined by Kotay, who seemed to possess a 
wonderful amount of knowledge on the matter, and, as 
net-load after net-load came up, the well-deck soon be- 
gan to assume the appearance of a pearling lugger. 

“You had better come up now, Jack,” spoke Tom. 
“ There may be bad consequences attending a prolonged 
stay below.” 

“ No fear,” responded Jack. “ I feel first-class. 
Move me a little bit so that I can reach fresh ground.” 

Powell and Stansbury at once pulled the swinging 
arm of the crane farther over, and Jack found himself 
in an entirely different world in the space of a few feet. 
He was in a dense forest of sea-wood now, and even 
the floor was carpeted by an exquisite green moss, in- 
laid with myriads of tiny shells. Round him the long, 
trailing tendrils wound themselves ; the water was much 
darker here because of their shadows, and he could only 
barely distinguish the forms of the various fish that 
sallied from the eternal quiet of their mossy beds to 
inspect him. But Jack was now a pearler before every 
thing else, and he raked the oozy bottom carefully with 
his hanging attachments, and gave his attention only to 
the pearl shell he saw. 

Then another change came : the Cinderella had swung 
round on her anchor, and Jack had been carried with it. 
He was now suspended in mid-water among the tops of 


On the Pearl Beds 


183 


the branches of the submarine, forest. The water was 
much clearer owing to the sunlight filtering through, 
which the Cinderella herself had previously prevented. 
For a moment Jack forgot he was under the sea. He 
thought he was hanging in mid-air, although he was 
not conscious of any effort or strain of suspension. 
Birds flew from branch to branch, and beautiful buds 
unfolded before his eyes. All round him was a waving 
mass of delicate, gorgeously-coloured foliage, but some- 
how it was exquisitely outlined red and white feathers 
that took the place of leaves. Far below him, in the 
semi-darkness, he could see the outline of many strange 
plants and flowers, and around them flitted shapes and 
forms he had never seen before. 

Then a shadow came between him and the light, and 
he was brought back to a knowledge of his actual sur- 
roundings with an abruptness not good for ordinary 
nerves. A large shark was descending on him in hesi- 
tating circling sweeps, as if half afraid to attack the new 
usurper of his submarine domain, and instantly Jack saw 
that the waving branches were coral and seaweed 
growths, that his birds were fish, and that his feathery 
leaves were the result of the coral polyp’s life’s sacrifice. 
But the shark had now come to rest before him, and was 
critically examining his possible weak points. Jack 
looked through the glasses straight into the creature’s 
eyes, and wondered if he really were the first human 
being to hold an interview with a live shark at such close 
quarters. He was certainly not afraid, but his old spirit 
of reckless, overmastering curiosity came over him, and 
he smiled to himself. “ I think I can invent something 
that will cause your kind to keep away from us while 
at work, Mr. Shark,” he remarked ; “ but, in the mean- 


i^4 The Pearl Seekers 

time, how do you like that ? ” He caused one of the 
diver’s steel arms to rise suddenly and with all the 
force at his disposal, and the barbed points with which 
the ends were adorned, to assist in retaining a hold on 
any object seized, struck deep into the ugly monster’s 
side. The look of bewilderment that came into the 
shark’s eyes convinced Jack that even these ferocious 
prowlers of the deep have some dim sort of reasoning in- 
stinct. But he had little time to make a study of sharkly 
expression, for the water became a confused, whirling 
blur, in which seemed to be mixed coral branches, sea- 
weed, shell-fish, and shark. At almost the same moment 
the monster’s tail came in violent contact with the diver’s 
exterior, and Jack felt himself swinging like a pendulum 
through the disturbed waters. A streak of silver grey 
was visible for a fraction of a second as it flashed away 
into the gloom of deeper water, and when the diver 
came to rest all was calm again, and Tom was speaking 
through the telephone asking if anything had gone 
wrong. 

“ No,” answered Jack. “ A shark dropped down to 
see me, but I was not at home to him, and I don’t think 
he’ll stop going until he hits an iceberg or South America. 
Lower me a bit, I’m hanging among the tree-tops just 
now.” 

Next moment the bottom of the sea rushed up to 
him, and he dug out some very large shells half em- 
bedded in a sandy patch. Then he felt his head become 
giddy, and tried to speak, but found he could not utter 
a sound, and dimly realised he was falling, falling into 
bottomless space. A deep sleep came over him, in which 
he dreamt a hideous dream that seemed to run on for 
centuries, and then he suddenly discovered that he was 


On the Pearl Beds 185 

lying on the Cinderella s deck, with his comrades, the 
Captain, and Kotay bending over him. 

“ What has happened, boys ? " he cried. “ It feels as 
if I had not seen you for ages." 

“ You were dropped to the sixteen fathom level too 
suddenly for the air-pumps to keep pace with you," said 
Tom. “ When Kotay saw the sixteen line go over, he 
shrieked something in his native tongue and rushed up 
to Powell, who was at the winch. We didn’t know what 
he meant, but Powell guessed Kotay was saying some- 
thing was wrong and hauled you up. I spoke to you 
while we were raising you, but you did not answer, and 
you opened your eyes the minute the fresh air blew across 
your face on deck. What happened ? " 

“ I don’t know ; I got awfully sick all at once, and 
then I dreamt for a hundred years, and awoke to find 
myself here." 

“ No diver not used to deep sea live down sixteen," 
put in Kotay. “ Divers up at Thursday Island and 
round at Broome only live two years if keep on diving 
that deep, and they are all Manillamen or Japanese too. 
Why not let me go down ? Can’t kill me ; I no’ care for 
sharks or devil-fish or nothing; I bully good diver." 

“ Why did you stop diving, then ? " queried the Cap- 
tain. “ It is a better-paying profession than that of 
steward." 

“ Oh, I found out how to make oyster spit out pearl, 
an’ the boss sack me." 

“ I see. You made them spit out the pearls when no 
one was looking," laughed the Captain, assisting Jack to 
his feet, now completely recovered. 

“ That’s what the Chinkie cleaners said, an’ the silly 
old fool of a boss believed them, an’ no listen to me 


1 86 


The Pearl Seekers 


when I tell him Kotay would no’ steal. He tell other 
pearlers no’ give me a job too, an’ I came away. He 
very very sorry now, I’ll bet, for Chinkies are the biggest 
stealers of pearls in the world.” 

“ Wha’ fo no one come fo’ dinnel?” interrupted Ah 
Sing, coming along the deck. “ Wha’ fo’ I make good 
tuckel an’ no one come fo’ it ? ” 

“ Jove, I forgot I was hungry,” muttered Richard 
and the Captain simultaneously, and the same remark 
might well have been ascribed to every one, including the 
greatly-interested crew and firemen, who had been watch- 
ing all the proceedings intently. 

“ I think we can well afford a rest now,” said Tom. 
“ At the present rate of progress we shall make a for- 
tune very soon. Mother-of-pearl shell was worth one 
hundred and eighty pounds per ton when we left Syd- 
ney; so, without counting on any pearls we may have, 
we are amassing wealth at the rate of over two hundred 
pounds a day, for we can easily have over a ton of shell 
on board before night.” 

After an excellent lunch of roast wild pig, pearling 
operations were resumed, and this time Thomson went 
down. Greater care was taken now to keep the diver 
at a medium depth, and net-load after net-load of par- 
ticularly fine pearl shell came up periodically. 

Thomson was not of a poetical temperament, and 
did not pay much attention to the marvellous sights 
around him; and perhaps it was just as well that it was 
he who had relieved Jack, for the scenes of the morning, 
although just as surprising, had changed considerably. 
The diver was working on a ledge fourteen fathoms 
deep, about twelve feet deeper than the region of Jack’s 
enchanted garden. The submarine forest was still there, 


On the Pearl Beds 


187 


and also the upshooting seaweed, but, instead of the bril- 
liant colours and graceful shapes which Jack had seen, 
a dismal sombre hue overspread everything, and the only 
forms discernible in the gloom were those of repulsive 
overgrown crabs, huge octopoda, and enormous creatures 
of the eel family. Among the spreading roots of the 
great sea plants reposed many clusters of pearl oysters, 
and to these the practical Thomson confined his atten- 
tion, and the pile of bivalvular casings on deck increased 
rapidly. After half-an-hour’s work he was hauled up for 
a rest, much against his will ; but Tom was obdurate, for 
Kotay had told him that fifteen minutes was the longest 
time any pearl diver should be down, and, although their 
invention perhaps rendered a longer period quite harm- 
less, there was nothing to be gained by taking unneces- 
sary risks. The Captain wanted to relieve Thomson, but 
the latter would not hear of it. “ I am not a nigger,” he 
said, “ and if a black man can stay down a quarter of 
an hour in an ordinary dress, surely I can stand half a 
day?” 

“ That’s all right,” returned the Captain. “ But I can 
see with my eyes shut that it will pay me better in fu- 
ture to go as much in for cruising about at the bottom 
of the sea as on top, and I want to see what it’s like be- 
fore you fellows ruin that patent diving machine you’ve 
got.” 

“ You can go down any time you like, Captain, when 
once we are sure that the pirates may not suddenly bear 
down upon us. What would we do if you were below 
at such a time ? ” 

“I had forgotten all about those low-down beggars,” 
muttered the Captain ; “ and, by Queensland ! we haven’t 
been keeping any watch.” 


1 88 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ I have, sir/’ said Stansbury ; “ but we’ll not be able 
to do so at night if they come along without lights.” 

“By Jupiter! Tom,” said Richard, “it is a good 
thing after all that our island is under water. Those 
friends of ours would have found it long ago if it had 
been otherwise.” 

“ Well, lower me again,” interrupted Thomson ; “ I 
want to explore a dense part of a forest down there be- 
fore it gets dark.” 

A minute later he was dropped overboard, and all 
on top took up their respective duties, and soon after 
more shell began to come up. The Cinderella was con- 
tinually shifting her position as she swung at her anchor, 
and thus Thomson during his second period below was 
suddenly confronted by an inky black abyss which 
yawned at his feet. “ I would like to go down there and 
see if the shells are bigger,” he muttered as he propelled 
himself across the gulf, “ but I don’t suppose I could 
induce Tom to allow me to go.” Nor had he any desire 
to explore the depths himself next minute. As he pad- 
died towards the middle, a long, shiny, twisting object 
reached out of the gloom and encircled the diver in its 
folds. Then another tentacle shot up, and another, and 
another, until the casement wherein Thomson lived was 
bound round and round several times. Then the large 
pulpy, almost translucent creature, whose arms it was 
had encircled the diver, raised itself from its darksome 
den and a great flaring eye gleamed in front of the 
glasses. 

“ What a nuisance,” said Thomson to himself ; “ I 
suppose this must be an exceptionally large devil-fish. 
It seems a good bit more formidable, too, than that one 
I once read of in Victor Hugo’s book.” 


On the Pearl Beds 


189 


“ Anything wrong?” spoke Tom through the tele- 
phone, which was always fixed to the ear of the man in- 
side the diver. 

“ Nothing special,” replied Thomson ; “ a fair-sized 
devil-fish or cat-fish, or something of that nature, is 
having an argument with me, and he doesn’t seem to 
mind my prodding him, where his ribs should be, with 
my sharpest-pointed arm. Swing me over a bit, I am 
in a hole just now.” 

“ We are going to haul you up,” said Tom. “ Powell 
says that something is pulling at the winch so much that 
he has had to apply his band brakes.” 

“ By Jove ! Haul away, then. This fellow looks as 
if he could squash our diver into nothing and digest him 
if he tried hard.” Before Thomson had finished speak- 
ing, Tom signed to Powell, and he started his engines. 
They seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the steam 
blew through the open ports; but then they went away 
with a rush, the drums revolved, and the diver came up. 

“ Great centipedes!” ejaculated the Captain, “look 
what is sticking around your machine.” 

“ It is the devil-fish,” said Tom coolly ; “ we must get 
rid of it. Does anybody know how to kill that thing?” 

“ We’ll have to chop it to pieces,” said the Captain ; 
“ these creatures won’t let go. But I never heard of one 
that size before. Why, it almost justifies the old yarn 
about them hauling ships down.” 

“ But how are we to get Thomson out ? ” cried Rich- 
ard. “ We must still keep pumping air to him, and 
can’t stop to lend a hand to destroy the — the thing.” 

“ Haul him on board,” said the Captain. “ I’ll get all 
the crew along with their knives.” 

“ No good,” cried Kotay, overhearing the Captain’s 


190 


The Pearl Seekers 


words ; “ give him steam, he no like that, he let go then. 
I see him often in Torres Strait. Steam chase him 
away.” 

“ But we can’t turn a steam-pipe on it,” said Tom as 
the diver and its encumbrance reached the deck ; “ we’d 
heat up the metal and burn Thomson too.” 

The Captain lopped one of the creature’s tentacles 
from the machine with an axe, and it turned its basilisk 
eye upon him and flung another limb in a long sweeping 
curve towards him. But here the Kanakas joined in the 
attack, and the diver was knocked over on its side in the 
melee. Doubtless the battle would have been ended 
eventually in favour of the crew, but Powell forestalled 
them by running to the engine-room and starting the 
dynamo. Then armed with two cables he approached 
the creature, and from a safe distance inserted them in 
its loathsome body. There was an indescribable smell 
for a moment, and some sparks danced along the me- 
tallic coating of the diver, but the effect was quick. The 
creature flung out all its limbs, lashed the deck convul- 
sively for a short time, and then stiffened out. Powell 
raised the diver in mid-air when he saw it was free, and, 
as the crew rushed in and despatched the hideous, help- 
less creature of the deep, Thomson was liberated from 
his aluminium bronze casement. Shortly afterwards the 
Kanakas had washed away all signs of the fray, and 
highly satisfied with their day’s work the partners pre- 
pared for dinner. 

The sun went down and darkness fell over the 
waters, and when all work was over for the night Powell 
and Davis brought out their banjos. 


CHAPTER IX 


The Spoils of the Sea 

The night passed without incident, much to every one’s 
satisfaction, and in the morning pearling work was re- 
sumed. Tom now insisted on going down into the 
depths himself, and, although the others protested that 
only he could superintend on top, he laughed and said 
he had full confidence in the abilities of any of his com- 
rades to stand by with a telephone receiver at his ear, 
which was all he had done. As Tom’s word was re- 
garded as final on board the Cinderella , nothing re- 
mained but to allow him to go down, and soon after 
daylight he stood — inside the diver, of course — on what 
looked like a wind-swept beach, but which really was a 
ledge ten fathoms deep, exposed to the influence of some 
submarine current. He had the usual period of intense 
sickness before he became accustomed to the high-pressed 
air in which he lived, but when that was over he instantly 
set about his duties. 

Where he was the luxuriant vegetation which Jack 
and Thomson had described was absent, but he could 
see a dim waving mass a few yards to his right, and 
knew that if he paddled himself down the sloping bot- 
tom to a greater depth he would be amid surroundings 
of a similar nature. But as there was plenty of shell on 
the ledge on which he rested, he resolved to stay where 
he was, and began digging out the bivalves near him 

I 9 I 


192 


The Pearl Seekers 


with his cleverly designed and constructed appendages. 
Here the shells were half buried in the clean-washed bot- 
tom, and it required some effort to dislodge them. For a 
time Tom wondered why they had so fastened them- 
selves; but it soon dawned upon him that they, like all 
things on earth, were merely obeying nature’s great law 
of self-preservation, for assuredly they would have been 
swept away into what perhaps they knew was a less con- 
genial environment if they had not so secured them- 
selves. 

Tom remained below for about half-an-hour, and 
then was hauled up on deck for a breath of fresh air, 
and just as he was about to go down again Thomson 
came out of the engine-room with two long weighted rub- 
ber-covered copper wires. “ I got the idea from Powell 
last night,” he remarked, dropping the end of one over 
the side, “ but I have improved on it a bit.” He fast- 
ened one end of the other wire to the outside casing of 
the diver and added, “ I’ve rigged up a pretty big electric 
transformer beside the dynamos, and these are the sec- 
ondary wires from it. When any of those people who 
stay down there come too close to you, just tell us 
through the telephone, and prod him somewhere with 
that free wire that is down already.” 

“ But won’t I receive a shock myself ? ” asked Tom. 

“ No, the diver by reason of its build is a perfect 
insulator inside. There can be no electricity inside a hol- 
low conductor, you know, and anyhow you can’t possibly 
come into contact with the other wire.” 

“ But the current, if it is at the tension you say, will 
always be sparking across from that wire to complete 
its circuit with the other wire through the diver. That 


The Spoils of the Sea 193 

will electrolyse the water and generate a cloud of bub- 
bling gas which will interfere with the sight.” 

“ No it won’t, at least not while you’re working. 
The current will only be switched on up here when you 
telephone that you require it; then I have no doubt hy- 
drogen and other gases will be liberated, but they will 
fairly stream from the body of the fellow who tackles 
you. The water, being salt, will act as a conductor be- 
tween him and the diver, and the Pacific Ocean around 
where you are will be turned into a huge electroplating 
vat. By Jupiter! there will be fun. Imagine yourself 
and a shark as the positive and negative electrodes.” 

“ When you scientists come back to language that 
an average man can understand, let me know,” said the 
Captain. “ I like to listen to you playing with the old 
Pacific, but I don’t think it very fair to hurl such sci- 
entific terms at it.” 

“ Thomson has no respect for anything but engines 
and dynamos,” laughed Tom. “ But, as he always con- 
tinues to be right in what he thinks, I believe you may 
safely drop me into deeper water this time, and I’ll keep 
his live wire within reach.” 

The diver was closed and lowered into the water 
once more, and this time the cables paid out until six- 
teen fathoms was registered. The Captain and Jack 
manned the pumps, Powell worked the winch, and Rich- 
ard kept the telephone to his ear. Tom was certainly 
surprised when he reached bottom. Instead of a clean 
hard floor, bare of vegetation like the scene of his last 
exploit, he was now in a veritable forest with overhead 
branches and twining undergrowths, a black shell-en- 
crusted wall rising behind him to the shallower levels. 
(b 761) N 


194 


The Pearl Seekers 


Light seemed to be penetrating the waters farther away 
from the wall, and he moved over and gazed around. 
Sponges of all shades and shapes, seaweed, and grace- 
ful Neptune’s cups, beautiful, strange shell-like blos- 
soms, and star-shaped objects — white, yellow, and pink 
in colour — blazed everywhere. Fish, large and small, 
swam in and out among the lace-like branches, as lazily 
as if the entire submarine world had been made for their 
enjoyment; and large exquisitely-formed shell-fish lay 
peacefully among the undergrowths. Tom thought he 
had never seen anything to match the splendour of the 
garden spread before him, and idly watched the antics 
of the inhabitants for some time. Near him were several 
mounds on the coralline bottom, and round them great 
numbers of the smaller fish seemed to be amusing them- 
selves; but Tom could not make out the substance of 
which the mounds were composed, nor why the fish kept 
so close to them. 

Then his eyes rested on some exceptionally large 
pearl oysters, and he set to work, and for the next quar- 
ter of an hour his net went up and down regularly. 
The fish at first had been startled by his approach ; but 
now growing bolder as they saw their strange visitor 
did not make war on them, they surrounded him and 
examined the diver critically, and who knows, perhaps 
intelligently. 

Then suddenly the scene was changed, and the quiet, 
peaceful spot became one of headlong haste and con- 
fusion. Tom looked up; a dark shadow had descended 
into the garden, and everything else alive had disap- 
peared. The place was now like a city of the dead, and 
over it brooded a large evil-eyed shark. Tom stopped 


195 


The Spoils of the Sea 

to watch the new visitor, and wondered where all the 
fish had gone. Incidentally he also telephoned aloft for 
the transformed current to be turned on, then he laughed 
in surprise and amusement. He saw where the fish had 
gone; they had retreated inside the mounds, evidently 
having been warned by an outpost that probably gave 
his life for the others, of the approach of their rapacious 
foe. They were peering out at him through hundreds 
of apertures resembling nothing so much as miniature 
doors and windows, and doubtless enjoying the shark’s 
discomfiture. 

“ I never knew that fish built houses,” Tom said to 
himself ; “ but I suppose there are many things in this 
water world which we don’t know. I wonder what that 
fellow is thinking? He can’t feel too well pleased at los- 
ing his breakfast.” 

But whatever the shark thought, it did not convey its 
impressions to Tom ; it came up to him instead, in a 
manner which plainly meant fight, and Tom promptly 
pushed the needle-ended wire which hung beside him 
into its side. The shark spun around like a lightning- 
flash and brushed the diver with its tail. That was quite 
enough, Thomson’s patent did the rest. In that great 
land of silence a sound was probably heard for the first 
time. It was a hissing, crackling sound, and it accom- 
panied the generation of a dense turbid cloud of hydro- 
gen gas. Perhaps, too, a smell of burning shark was 
perceptible to the fish world; but if so, it did not last 
long, for, as if by magic, the waters cleared and the diver 
was alone in the desolate waste. The shark had left 
for other parts, and Tom requested those above to 
switch off the current, adding that the patent had worked 


196 


The Pearl Seekers 

well. He sent up several net-loads of shell afterwards, 
and was then hoisted to the surface without being asked 
how he felt, and Captain Inglis took his place. 

Thus the day passed, and the pearl shell accumu- 
lated until it began to assume the importance of a cargo, 
and the hatches had to be opened to accommodate the 
fast-increasing store. After the Captain had spent an 
hour below, Powell took a turn at diving, and before 
the day was done all the partners had made themselves 
familiar with the sea-bed and its wonders. Then, when 
all were tired out, Kotay was permitted to descend, and 
for the next hour the shell came up as fast as those on 
top could raise and lower the net. 

When darkness fell, a watch was again set, and they 
amused themselves with music and story-telling. In 
the morning work went on again. By night the for- 
ward hatch was filled with shell, and again the ship was 
given over to merriment and rest. Next day the subma- 
rine reef was explored, and proved to be a narrow ring 
of coral which approached to within fifteen feet of the 
surface, sloping gradually down therefrom to depths 
which they could not determine. The reef was approxi- 
mately three miles in circumference, and from the state 
of its highest point Captain Inglis concluded it had been 
above the surface only four years previously. 

“ Islands are always going up or down about here,” 
he explained. “ You may call them earthquakes or what 
you like, but I saw Krakatoa blow itself to blazes, and I 
was sailing round when Tahiti was drowned out. I also 
know a good few islands between here and the equator 
that are not on any chart I have ever seen, and there are 
a fair amount on the Admiralty chart that would need 
a fellow with a divining rod to find. Anyhow, there 


i 9 7 


The Spoils of the Sea 

are more disturbances and alteration in the earth’s sur- 
face throughout the Pacific than most people dream. I 
wonder if, when the pink terraces of New Zealand were 
destroyed and ” 

“ Smoke down on the west ! ” sang out Stansbury 
from the look-out on the mast. 

“ Howling hurricanes ! ” cried the Captain. “ It must 
be the pirate crowd, for there is nothing else ever comes 
here, unless a German cruiser looking for poachers. Get 
steam up at once and we’ll clear. They can’t see us for 
some time yet, unless they are on the mast look-out.” 

Instantly all was bustle, but there was no confusion, 
and in a very short space of time Thomson announced 
that there was steam enough to get under way. The 
smoke of the oncoming ship was not yet visible from 
the Cinderella's deck, but it was becoming more plain 
to Stansbury every minute. 

“ Then let her go,” cried the Captain. “ Full speed 
ahead ! and we’ll get out of the way before they can 
see us, for we have no smoke column to betray us.” 

In less than a minute the Cinderella had picked up 
her anchor, and before it was on board she was headed 
eastward and moving through the water at an eight-knot 
speed. It was close on sundown when Stansbury had 
sighted the smoke cloud, and therefore those on board 
the Cinderella knew that soon darkness would favour 
them. And while the sea became enshrouded in the 
blackness of night the little vessel raced on with ever- 
increasing speed as the pressure of steam on her boilers 
mounted towards the maximum. 

“ Where are we going, Captain ? ” asked Richard, as 
the phosphorescent waves flew from the bows with the 
gathering momentum. 


198 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ To our depot,” answered the Captain. “ Allowing 
these people are those whom we have reason to expect, 
they can’t follow us there unless in small boats, and I 
reckon we can meet them on that level. Besides, we 
have a fair cargo of shell on board that we must land 
soon or it will become smelliferous, and we are badly 
wanting some more fresh meat.” 

Two hours later the Cinderella passed through the 
gap in the reef round the island they had first seen the 
Sunday before, and with course illuminated by the burn- 
ing hill-top steamed slowly across the lagoon and up the 
inlet, finally coming to rest in mid-stream near where 
they had first landed. 

“ You may ring up dinner, Ah Sing,” the Captain 
remarked to the cook when the anchor was down. “ I 
don’t think we shall be troubled to-night, for the other 
fellow must be as tired as we are.” 

“ But what about to-morrow ? ” asked Richard. 
“ They will find us then if they come here.” 

“ When you are as old as I am you will learn that 
to-morrow always takes care of itself,” answered the 
Captain, — “ at least so far as worry is concerned, for 
I’ve never known a day yet that didn’t bring along its 
own share of that.” 

“ Let us go about our business as if those other 
people didn’t exist,” said Tom. “ We must sort out 
our shells and get them cleaned, and we may as well 
start erecting the tables Kotay talks of for that purpose 
to-morrow. If our friends visit us, well, we are not en- 
tirely defenceless, and it is more than probable they will 
not know of our existence. Anyhow, they can't sail up 
here and ” 

“ If they come in a small boat we will reduce them 


199 


The Spoils of the Sea 

to their elements with our transformer,” added Thom- 
son. “ I don’t think pirates know anything about that 
method of fighting.” 

“ We’ll give them a . surprise some day soon, I reckon,” 
the Captain murmured as they went down to dinner, 
and the boys wondered how long the time could be post- 
poned when they and the wreckers must come to a direct 
trial of strength. 

A double watch was kept all night, the entire ship’s 
company being pressed into service; but morning at 
length broke over the mountain top, and nothing had 
happened. As soon as it was clear enough to see, 
Tom and Stansbury ran up the covered rock cleft to the 
look-out tree at the junction of the two gullies whence 
the boys had previously looked down on the beach. 
Nothing could be seen; as far as the eye could reach, the 
sparkling waters danced in the rays of the morning sun, 
bearing upon its surface only a few wing-weary birds. 

“ They have gone,” observed Stansbury. “ I wonder 
what they mean by sailing aimlessly over the face of the 
water.” 

“ Oh, I know now,” said Tom ; “ they are sailing in 
parallel courses east and west looking for the island. 
We heard them arrange that.” Returning down to the 
ship again, the news was given that the island was their 
own once more, and, free from a great weight of worry, 
all started to cut down trees and build long tables, upon 
which to arrange their treasure. Neither the boys nor 
the officers knew anything about the proper treatment 
of the shell ; but Kotay seemed to know everything, and 
at once took command of operations. “We make long 
table,” he said, “ slopey up and down, and make big 
pocket along bottom end for hold water. Then we put 


200 


The Pearl Seekers 


oyster on top end an’ lay him all along. Soon he gets 
tired keeping his mouth shut, an’ when he opens it to see 
where he is, pearl comes out and rolls down into water 
in pocket at bottom.” 

“ You talkee talkee too muchee,” observed Ah Sing, 
who had been taking great interest in the work. “ Dig 
big hole in glound an’ put all him oysta inside, then covel 
him up, an’ oysta open him shell to see whe’ hims get to. 
Hims no able shut again, an’ when shell dug upee him all 
clean.” 

“ That is another Chinkie trick,” sneered Kotay, 
“ How you save pearl that way ? ” 

“ Put him box in hole befo’ oysta’, an’ when oysta’ 
all deaded put box in wata’ an’ him he wash way alee 
samee vely quick. Shell and pelil stay along a box allee 
time.” 

The partners were puzzled, and even the Captain 
seemed at a loss what to do, for it was quite evident that 
both Kotay and Ah Sing were experts in pearling, but 
each belonged to a different school. 

Here one of the firemen came forward, his not un- 
handsome black face beaming all over, and his remark- 
ably fine teeth showing through his parted lips. 

“Well, Aquinili, what is it?” asked the Captain. 

“ I no’ like speak not spoken be,” said the Manilla- 
man ; “ but I work along Malay pearl diving boys up in 
Ceylon and then at Broome. I hear what Kotay say; 
it good, but heap quicker to open shell with knife, that 
best way.” 

“Ya, ya!” screamed Ah Sing excitedly. “Allee 
samee dodgee ovel again. You open shell knife an’ who 
gets pelil? Me cheatee too muchee that way too; know 


201 


The Spoils of the Sea 

too muchee let any fello’ go fool about shell with knife. 
No get any pelil that way.” 

“ You dirty yellow chow chow,” quietly spoke the 
Manilla man. “ You big thief yourself, think other peo- 
ple steal too. I like take knife to you, you no’ good, 
look two way eyes, tucker stealing cook.” 

The fireman might have said more, but Ah Sing had 
hurriedly departed to attend to his dinner preparations, 
and thus rendered any further remarks very much out of 
place. Richard at once proceeded to engage the angry 
one in conversation, and by the exercise of great tact 
soon had him working with redoubled energy at sawing 
wood for the tables. 

“ It seems to me that pearling entails many vexed 
questions,” said the Captain. “ I wonder why that is the 
case ? ” 

“ It’s easily explained,” answered Tom “ Pearls of 
great value are frequently found, and it appears that 
those engaged in opening and cleaning the shell con- 
sider that they have more right to them than those who 
raised the shell.” 

“ That is so,” remarked Kotay, who was erecting 
standards for his table. “ Master pearlers never get 
much pearls. Chinkie swindle them by making oyster 
spit before him ready, an’ when open him with knife, 
Malays, Chinese, Kanakas, and Australian aborigines, 
and other cheat people who do that work, hide all pearls 
in mouth. No pearls lost or stolen this time, though. 
Kotay see to that all right.” 

Without further delay the work of building the tables 
was pushed ahead, and soon a space was cleared on the 
beach of the hidden haven, and a long standard of partly- 


202 


The Pearl Seekers 


dressed wood erected thereon. The partners and the 
two officers worked industriously with saw and plane, 
and the Kanakas and Manillamen felled great trees and 
ripped them into rough planks. In the afternoon the 
sloping tables were completed, and then the cargo of 
shell was discharged from the Cinderella and laid in po- 
sition along the higher side. 

About this time the Captain seemed to remember 
something, and calling Tom to his side he said, “ Are you 
any good at painting?” 

“Not much,” responded Tom; “but surely you are 
not thinking of painting the tables ? ” 

“ No, I said painting ! I didn’t mean slinging paint 
from a pot. I want to put up a notice something like 
this, and I don’t know if my own lettering could be 
read at a distance.” He produced a sheet of paper, and 
on it was inscribed : “ Notice : — this island is private 

property. Poaching prohibited. Filibusters will be 
sunk.” 

“ That is a bit drastic, is it not? ” said'Tom. “ Sup- 
posing a German cruiser came along? ” 

“We should have to sink our notice-board before 
she saw it, that’s all. Can you print it ? ” 

“ Well, yes, I think I could letter that easily enough. 
It is one of the shortest yet most complete notices I have 
ever seen ; but it does seem a bit ridiculous sticking it 
up in the Pacific Ocean.” 

“ Then get it done as soon as you can,” said the 
Captain. “ Make it big. Print it on a sail sheet or 
something, and I will go and rig up a mast in a barrel to 
carry it.” 

Tom and the Captain went on deck to set about 
their work, and just as the sun went down they finished. 


203 


The Spoils of the Sea 

When dinner was over, and all the others were enjoying 
themselves, the Captain got the crew to lower the 
dinghy quietly, and towing the barrel astern, Tom and 
he rowed out to the lagoon. The half moon was now 
high in the heavens, and its light, mingling with that 
from the volcano, cast an indescribable, weird effect over 
the waters, and the boom of the surf seemed an un- 
earthly musical accompaniment to a passing scene from 
another world. Right through the centre of the gap 
in the outer reef they rowed, and there the Captain stuck 
the mast bearing the sail and inscription in the barrel, 
and attaching an anchor and chain, dropped the whole 
into the sea. The barrel floated perfectly, and bore its 
banner aloft as if proud of the message it carried, and 
after inspecting it from all points the two sailed back 
to the Cinderella. 

Then a council of war was held, at which the Cap- 
tain recommended measures which after some debate 
were carried, and soon after the prospective pearler kings 
retired to rest, for a day on shore after a period at sea 
is very exhausting. Next day was Sunday, and the en- 
tire ship’s company rested, for neither the Captain nor 
the partners would allow any work to be done on that 
day. 

On Monday morning after breakfast, Stansbury was 
left in charge of the ship with Ah Sing, Aquinili, and 
two Kanakas, all the rest forming into two parties, under 
the leadership of the Captain and Tom, to pay a visit to 
the Adventurers’ depot. The Captain’s party, which in- 
cluded Thomson, Jack, and Richard, and one Kanaka, 
went round by boat, and Tom’s division, consisting of 
Powell, Kotay, and a couple of Manillamen, proceeded 
along the course of the subterranean passage. Tom’s 


204 


The Pearl Seekers 

party arrived first, and excepting that all the cases had 
been rearranged, probably while the Adventurers had 
been engaged in their search for the wild cats, they found 
the place much as it was before. Kotay grinned when 
he saw the new position of the boxes, and walked up 
closer to inspect them. 

“ Here is one corked up smell pretty good on the 
fight/’ he remarked. “ It is same box of tinned cabbage 
I stuck knife into one. I show you again. Just have 
to pull out plug of paper ” 

“ No, no, Kotay,” cried Tom. “ Don’t remove your 
plug just now. We have work to do here.” 

Powell meanwhile had been attracted by the assort- 
ment of scientific instruments and weapons of war that 
were stored in one end of the house, and already he hadl 
singled out some appliances which he thought would be 
of service on the Cinderella. The Manillamen likewise 
had made an inventory of what the place contained, and 
it required all Tom’s tact to prevent them from appro- 
priating at once everything they could see in the way of 
personal adornment. Kotay, however, seemed entirely 
indifferent to the possible spoil around. He had climbed 
over some cases of tinned food-stuffs, and his active 
mind had found occupation in the contemplation of a 
very fine diver’s outfit which lay in a corner. Coils of 
rope and tackle, pulleys, jacks, and other useful engi- 
neering devices were also scattered about the place in 
careless fashion, and behind a portable forge, that rested 
upside down, the Jap’s quick eye detected a strange 
square ornamental box with a large trumpet-like af- 
fair lying beside it. He instantly leaped over the forge 
and examined his latest find, and was thus engaged 
when Tom and the others went out to walk along the 


The Spoils of the Sea 205 

beach to meet the Captain’s party, who evidently had to 
come a much longer route than the overland one. 

The two parties met near where the shark had been 
killed, and after hauling it out to the middle of the 
lagoon, where it would soon be eaten by other sharks, 
they went on to the depot, one party walking along 
the beach and the other rowing beside them. As they 
neared the hidden house after beaching the boat at the 
most convenient point, the loud strains of a brass band 
burst upon them, and they stopped in sheer amazement. 

“ What in creation is that ? v cried the Captain. 
“ Have I gone mad ? Or is this one of the enchanted 
islands ? ” 

“ But that is a brass band. It must be the band of 
a German cruiser,” spoke Jack. “We had better make 
for cover until we see what it means.” 

“Where’s Kotay?” asked Richard, and every one 
missed the little Japanese for the first time. 

Then Richard laughed. “ He is in your mysterious 
house,” he said, “ and is playing a very fine gramophone. 
This is indeed the most modern and complete depot I 
have ever known. Just imagine a gramophone with a 
good selection of the latest records to while away the 
time on an island like this.” 

“All islands are not like this,” said the Captain, as 
the party moved on again, amused at the manner in 
which they had been cheated. “ Many are really desert 
islands, patches of bare rock, in which nothing can find 
root. It is only the islands of story-books, and a few 
of the Friendlies, Fijis, and some up here, that are not 
fever swamps or worse.” 

The gramophone now began a weird bagpipe selec- 
tion, which made them hasten to put an end to what they 


20 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


termed the infliction. Thomson, however, was of opin- 
ion that his comrades really appreciated the wild Cale- 
donian music as much as he did himself, and certainly 
the Manillamen and Kanakas enjoyed the peculiar 
sounds thoroughly. At all events, the record was fin- 
ished before any one reached the house, and as Tom went 
through the window Kotay started something of the 
nature of a song in which one person asks another, 
“What are the wild waves saying?” 

“ Saying?” ejaculated the Captain, suddenly pausing 
half through the window. “ By smoke ! I know what 
the wild waves are saying. They are calling me the 
biggest duffer that ever came along this way.” 

“What’s the matter? ” asked Tom. 

“Matter? I’ve just remembered that we forgot to 
sign our notice of trespass out there.” 

“Dear me, Captain, why should we sign it? It 
will serve to make our special enemies hesitate, and we 
surely don’t dream of stopping gunboats.” 

“ Ah, well, we’ll see about it later,” said the Captain, 
landing inside. “But shade of the great G. R., what 
have we here! That is a 4.7 gun and there are am- 
munition cases. Why, the people who come here must 
have a regular fleet ! Look round for ropes, boys ; we’ll 
mount that gun somewhere up the mountain, and that 
quick-firer over there will just do nicely for the Cm- 
derella.” 

“But isn’t this something like stealing?” suggested 
Tom. “ Have we any right to take other people’s 
property ? ” 

“ Whose property do you think you are taking ? ” 
asked the Captain. “ Everything you see here has been 
taken off ships the pirates have sunk or stolen. We 


207 


f 

The Spoils of the Sea 

are merely using their own weapons to fight them, and 
if we ever run across the original owners I am sure we 
shall have much pleasure in restoring anything we have 
taken.” 

None of the partners ofifered any further objection; 
they all knew that sooner or later they would have to 
deal with the Adventurers, and if they intended to de- 
fend their property they could not afford to neglect 
any chances of strengthening themselves at the expense 
of the enemy. Kotay meanwhile was providing music 
which certainly was of a varied nature, but suddenly 
he put his head over the pile of cases and announced, 
“ Plenty rope and tackle here.” 

“ Throw it out, then,” ordered the Captain ; and 
starting another record, Kotay obeyed, adding, as if he 
knew exactly what was required, some wheels and 
axles. 

At once Thomson and Powell improvised a carriage, 
and the gun was levered and wedged in position thereon 
and hauled down to the boat. Tom then searched for 
the best shore entrance to the rock cleft, and in a 
short time the gun was taken round to that point, and 
by means of block and tackle, which the two engineers 
ingeniously fixed to trees overhead, hauled in successive 
stages up the mountain. It was slow work and hard, but 
as each difficulty presented itself Thomson and Powell 
met it and devised means to overcome it. Thus early 
in the afternoon they had reached a point in the main 
cleft far above the fork, and as the vegetation had now 
ceased to flourish with the luxuriance of lower alti- 
tudes, and they were no longer in a covered way, they 
could look down over the tops of the trees on the lower 
slopes upon the gap in the outer reef. Here the gun 


208 


The Pearl Seekers 


was carefully mounted and trained upon the gap, the 
position and range having been taken very accurately 
by the Captain and Richard with instruments borrowed 
from the Adventurers’ depot. 

“ By the great Australian Bight ! ” exclaimed the 
Captain, when all was completed, “ we could hold this 
island against a fleet now. Even allowing a war-boat 
could reach us at this range, she would need to drop 
her shells straight down on us to hurt us, and I doubt 
if there are any guns in the Pacific, away from Sydney 
Harbour defences, that could tackle that range.” 

“ It is remarkable,” agreed Tom, “ how this gully 
serves our purpose. Any ship before she could fire at 
us must come in line with us down at the gap, other- 
wise she will merely be wasting shot, for the rocky sides 
protect us.” 

“ And anything that comes in line can be sent to 
the bottom — a pity it is not deeper — quicker than those 
on board will find good for their health,” murmured the 
Captain enthusiastically. “ Now I wonder if we could 
hit that notice-board?” 

“ I think so,” said Richard ; “ she is trained on the 
barrel now.” 

“ Then let her go. We’ll have to put up a new 
notice, anyhow. Oh, I forgot we didn’t bring any 
ammunition.” 

“ There is a case of ammunition on the carriage,” 
observed Thomson, “ we used it as a saddle for the gun 
coming up.” 

“By Jupiter! did we?” exclaimed the Captain. 
“ Young man, it was no doubt a good saddle, but we 
ought to be somewhere up in space just now. How 
that case of ammunition stood all the bumping and jolt- 


209 


The Spoils of the Sea 

in g the gun got coming up here, and how near we were 
to leaving this island to the other fellows, are two points 

I feel a bit anxious about, but ” The Captain 

smiled reflectively, and his eyes wandered down over 
the waters. “ However, seeing we have ammunition, 
suppose we load her ? ” 

“She is loaded,” said Richard, “we hauled her up 
loaded.” 

“ What ! ” cried the amazed officer. Then seeing the 
boys looking surprised at his excitement, he said almost 
apologetically, “ Well, you fellows are the coolest I’ve 
ever struck. Do you mean to say you knew what you 
were doing ? ” 

“ Dear me, Captain,” said Tom, “ I confess I am 
somewhat surprised at you. What was the use of a 
gun up here without anything with which to charge 
her. The amount of force necessary to fire gelignite, 
dynamite, gunpowder, and all explosives is well known, 
and didn’t you see Thomson and Powell taking all 
care to minimise jerks? Besides, even had the ammu- 
nition gone off, little harm would have been done, as the 
resistance is small, and the powder most probably would 
only burn. As for the gun being loaded, that was quite 
safe, for it couldn’t possibly go off without being fired, 
and ” 

“ That will do,” cried the Captain ; “ after this I will 
express no surprise at whatever you people do. Only, 
if you tell me in advance that you are going to put a 
foot-rule or a spring balance on the explosive power of 
dynamite, I’ll — well — I’ll — Blow it! but I’ll hejp you. 
You can’t make a mistake. You’ll be hauling down the 
sun some day.” 

“ Do you see your notice-board, Captain ? ” inter- 

(b 761) o 


210 


The Pearl Seekers 


rupted Richard, standing by the gun and working with 
its mechanism. 

“ Yes ; I can’t read it, though.” 

“ Then watch it.” Richard pulled the firing cord, a 
flash of flame flew from the muzzle, the earth shook 
with a deafening report, and with a hissing sound 
like that of escaping steam the shell tore through the 
air. 

Instantly a column of water shot up around the 
floating barrel, and when it subsided the notice-board 
was not there. Then the mountain clefts caught up 
the echo of the discharge, and the hillsides boomed for 
the next minute as if a battery of artillery was in 
action. 

“ I reckon that is good enough for anything,” re- 
marked the Captain, removing his binoculars from his 
eyes and smiling all round. “ If any fool of a pirate 
tries to come through that channel after seeing a shot 
like that, he deserves what he’ll get. I’ll go down and 
get a new notice-board ready.” 

Feeling that they were now in a measure secure 
from a sea attack, the party returned to the depot and 
transferred a quick-firing Colt to their boat. They also 
took away some rifles and ammunition and rearranged 
the remaining pieces of artillery, so that at first sight 
nothing would be missed should the Adventurers return 
suddenly and land in a small boat. Kotay was engaged 
trying to pack the gramophone into an empty jam tin 
case, but he looked up when he saw preparations being 
made for final departure. “ Why you no’ take diver 
dress too?” he said. “Get pearl shell much faster if 
two divers down at same time.” 

“ We wouldn’t care to risk ourselves in the ordinary 


2 1 1 


The Spoils of the Sea 

dress,” answered Tom; but the Captain seemed struck 
with an idea. 

“ I believe it would be a good plan,” he said. “ Kotay 
could work the shallower levels in the orthodox dress, 
while the patent diver could stick to the deep water 
among the big shell.” 

“ Yes, my word, you bet ! ” cried Kotay. “ You bring 
diver dress along. I’ll work him. No get as much 
shell as other fellow, but get good lot. Kanakas can 
work air-pump and ” 

“ I’ll fix up a telephone in connection with that 
dress in no time,” said Thomson. “ But, by Jupiter! you 
will have to keep in the shallow water, Kotay, for we 
can’t protect you from big devil-fish in that antiquated 
garb.” 

But Kotay did not seem to worry much over the 
dangers of the deep. “ I have killed cat-fish big enough 
to be grandfather of fellow we kill,” he said, “ and every 
shark in the sea know better than to come near me. I 
have killed lots of him, and he know it.” 

It was therefore decided to take the dress too, so 
they lumbered it down to the beach with their other 
spoils. Thomson and Jack with the two firemen then 
departed with as much of their newly-acquired property 
as their little craft could carry, and the others went 
round by their friendly passage. The overlanders 
reached the Cinderella first, and found Stansbury greatly 
alarmed. He had heard the shot fired up the mountain, 
and even heard the hiss of the shell as it curved through 
the air over his head, but of course was in ignorance 
of what it had meant and who had fired it; hence his 
fears. Matters were soon explained to him ; and then 
taking the Cinderella's other boat, the Captain, Richard, 


212 The Pearl Seekers 

and two Kanakas went round for the rest of their 
goods. 

At daylight next morning the Cinderella sailed back 
to the pearl beds, and this time the boys kept their 
eyes fixed on their island to see how it was that they 
could not observe it from their field of operations. 
Gradually its outline grew indistinct, then the mountain 
became shrouded in a blue haze, and long before they 
should have been out of sight its presence was only 
marked by a darker blue than the surrounding atmos- 
phere. While looking at it the vessel stopped and the 
anchor went overboard. They had arrived at their 
own special property once more; and they realized how 
easy it was to miss an island in those quarters, for they 
were still gazing at the dark cloud which they knew 
was the mountain peak, and yet would not have known 
the fact had they not watched it gradually merge into 
the haze. 

All day the divers worked, Kotay and Aquinili re- 
lieving each other in the ordinary dress, and the boys 
in the other, Stansbury also going down that day to 
experience what deep-sea diving was like. At night 
they returned to the island and spread out their shell, 
and next morning went out again, anchoring a new 
notice in the spot where the former one had been shot 
away, and bearing the same inscription. Again success 
crowned their efforts, and at night they returned with 
another fair cargo. 

On Thursday, Thomson was left behind at his own 
request. He had constructed an ingeniously-contrived 
piece of apparatus by which he calculated their gun 
could be fired with electricity like modern naval guns; 
but not satisfied with that, he desired to connect it so 


The Spoils of the Sea 213 

that it could be fired from the Cinderella's deck if need 
be, and therefore wished to lay the necessary wires. 

The Cinderella returned early that day, for a cloud 
of smoke had been sighted away to the north, and 
neither the Captain nor the partners wished to run any 
risks, for it was not at all likely that any vessel would 
be cruising in that quarter unless a German gunboat 
or those they had even more reason to fear. Thomson 
had not returned, but they could see his connections 
ready for attaching to the ship’s switchboard while she 
was alongside, and tracing them Powell soon saw that 
they led up the mountain. 

“ He’ll be trying to finish laying the wires to-day,” 
he remarked to Tom, who was inspecting the opening 
tables before the sun went down. 

Jack was also having a look around at the lower end, 
and suddenly his comrades were startled by a cry from 
him. “ Here are half-a-dozen pearls,” he cried, “ and 
they are beauties.” He put his hand into the water-filled 
pocket which ran round the lower part of the tables, and 
held up one or two tiny shimmering spheroids the size 
of small peas. 

“ Our fortunes are made, boys,” said Tom with re- 
strained excitement. “ These have been ejected by those 
shells that opened this morning. Perhaps there will be 
more. Call the Captain and the others.” 

At that moment Thomson burst out from the under- 
growths shaking and perspiring. “ There are people 
on the island,” he cried ; “ I saw one, a white person 
too; I chased him, or maybe her, for miles, but I got 
lost.” 


CHAPTER X 


A German Cruiser Puts in an 
Appearance 

The three boys gazed at their comrade in perplexed 
silence. They had certainly thought there might be 
some traces of marooned mariners somewhere on the 
island, but they did not dream of mysterious people 
who fled at sight being so near them as Thomson’s 
words implied. 

“Are you quite sure, David?” asked Tom quietly! 

“ As sure as I am that I see you. I am not troubled 
with an imaginative fancy, as you know. The person 
evidently had been watching me working at the gun, 
and went oft like a deer when I suddenly saw him.” 

“ Then let us go on deck and think the matter 
over,” said Tom. “ It may have been some one belong- 
ing to the Southern Cross ” 

The boys walked up the gangway, and the light 
from the mountain took the place of daylight. The 
Captain, Richard, and Stansbury were called and shown 
the pearls. Then at Tom’s request Thomson told his 
story over again. 

“ You are certain it was a white person and not a 
native ? ” queried the Captain when he had finished. 

“ Quite. I saw his face for a moment ; it was very 
boyish, but his dress was somewhat peculiar.” 

214 


A German Cruiser Appears 215 

“ Do you think, Captain,” said Richard, “ that it 
could possibly have been any one wrecked here ? ” 

“ It seems possible. But, dear me, we’ve made plenty 
of noise ; why didn’t they visit us before ? ” 

“And why was he skulking along behind me?” put 
in Thomson. “ And if he were honest, why did he 
run whenever I sighted him? I almost felt inclined 
to try a shot at him from my revolver, but I couldn’t 
bring myself to do it, and before I had gained more 
than half the separating distance on him I found myself 
in a hopeless forest entanglement, from which I only 
emerged when you saw me.” 

“ Then you were actually gaining upon the person? ” 
said the Captain, puzzled. “ That proves it was no 
native, for they are as fleet as a locomotive.” 

“ I was running twice as fast as he was,” said 
Thomson, “ and would have caught him in another 
hundred yards if he hadn’t gone off into the forest.” 

“ Well, my boy, in my opinion the matter requires 
investigation,” said the Captain. “We can’t very well 
leave a cargo of pearl shell, and probably a fortune in 
pearls, lying open to people who evidently know of 
our presence here and won’t come forward.” 

“ But they may be shipwrecked or victims of the 
pirates,” suggested Jack. “We should make friends 
with them and thus strengthen our own position.” 

“ They might even be the remnant of the crew of the 
Southern Cross” said Tom. “ Some of them stuck to 
my father and Mr. Preston, and we know they were on 
this island.” 

“ Suppose we sail right round the island to-night ? ” 
suggested Stansbury. “ We asked them to show lights 


21 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


if there was any one to see us, and it strikes me that 
it is about time we went round for a reply.” 

“ We can’t risk it, Stansbury,” returned the Captain. 
“ The craft that produced the smoke we saw would be 
bound to see our lights, and we don’t know what would 
follow on our being discovered.” 

“ But we don’t require lights, sir,” persisted the 
junior officer. “We shall be inside the lagoon all the 
time, and the volcano gives sufficient light for naviga- 
tion. We know that no other craft can be inside, and 
a vessel outside could not distinguish our form against 
the background of forest and mountain.” 

“ Boy, there is something in what you say,” mused 
the Captain. “ What is your opinion ? ” He turned to 
the partners. 

“ I should be inclined to risk it,” said Tom. “ We 
know that no ship could negotiate the gap during the 
night, and if there are any people on the island it is 
time we should know them.” 

“ I agree with you, Tom,” added Richard. “ If any 
of our people are here, they will have lights burning in 
answer to our signals of last week; and if there is an- 
other detachment of our pirate friends on this island, 
the sooner we know all about them the better for our- 
selves.” 

The others were of a similar opinion; but Thomson 
proposed that an exploring party be also formed to 
search the island with one of the Kanakas or Kotay as 
a guide. It was resolved, however, to make the tour 
round the island first, as that could be done at night 
even more satisfactorily than by day, and if nothing re- 
warded their cruise, to organise an expedition in the 
morning. 

When this was settled the two engineers went below 


A German Cruiser Appears 217 

and saw about raising the steam to its maximum work- 
ing pressure. The fires had not been fully extinguished, 
and, with oil jets that could be brought up to their 
fullest efficiency in twenty minutes, the steam was 
blowing off at the safety valve before dinner was over. 
The crew wondered what all the excitement meant, but 
they knew by this time that their masters were not like 
ordinary people, and, as Tom had told them they would 
be well paid for doing their best at all times, they did not 
question anything, but went about their respective duties 
as if night cruises round volcanoes, without any lights, 
and possibly a gunboat in the distance, were what they 
had been accustomed to all their lives. 

It was a beautiful night, and the glorious constella- 
tions of the south shone out brilliantly as the Cinderella 
glided almost noiselessly into the lagoon and swung 
round in a circling northward course. The moonlight 
and the glare from the top of the mountain lit up the 
placid phosphorescent waters as clearly almost as day, 
and the Captain headed the Cinderella close inshore, so 
as to be in the shadows of the mountain as much as 
possible. The precaution proved to be a wise one be- 
fore they had gone far, for as they rounded a bluff 
half-way towards the northern end of the island the 
lights of a very large vessel burst suddenly upon them, 
and instantly the Cinderella was stopped and a council 
was held. 

“ That is a cruiser,” said the Captain. “ She is look- 
ing for something too. Look at her searchlight light- 
ing up the nor’-west. She’s on the track of something, 
I’ll go hap.” 

“ She must be a magnificent ship,” commented Tom. 
“ It can’t be us she is after ? ” 

“ No, I don’t think so. We’ve done nothing that 


2 I 8 


The Pearl Seekers 


they can know of to be honoured with an A i cruiser 
like that on our heels. By the great Pacific ! she’s sweep- 
ing the ocean with that light of hers. Tell Thomson 
to open her out, we’ll race back for that bluff, and if 
we don’t get there before they turn their lantern on the 
island, we’re done.” 

Before he had finished speaking the Cinderella was 
under way, and swinging her round in a short curve 
that threatened to break the vessel in two, the Captain 
headed her for the shelter of the bluff they had just 
rounded. They were none too soon. Just as they 
darted behind the projecting arm the war-boat’s search- 
light began to play on the island. Swiftly the beams 
travelled along the slopes, lighting up the entire lagoon 
in its passage with startling vividness. The rays 
reached the bluff, passed overhead, and then receded 
away to the north. 

“ It’s a good thing a searchlight has not the prop- 
erties of the X ray,” commented Jack, watching the 
trail of light speeding over the waters, “ or we should 
be hauled out to answer for our sins.” 

“ We stand a fair chance of being used for target 
practice yet,” observed the Captain. “ I wish you boys 
would make some calculations and tell us how deep 
we should be sunk if a shot from a ten-inch gun struck 
us.” 

“ Deeper than our diver could work safely, at any 
rate,” laughed Tom. “ I wonder if we are to be stuck 
here all night ? ” 

“They are going away,” cried Jack from the mast- 
head; “I can just see her top lights from here, and 
they are moving swiftly to the west.” 

“ What is that you say ? ” cried the Captain. " Go- 


A German Cruiser Appears 219 

ing away, are they? Then they have got on the track 
of their friends. Howling hurricanes ! I believe it 
must be the pirates they’re after. It must have been 
their dirty smoke we saw this afternoon, and Mr. Ger- 
man was waiting for them, and they’ve sheered off. Let 
her go, boys. We’ll continue our cruise, and good luck 
to Germany.” 

The Cinderella cautiously moved out from her hid- 
ing-place, and it then became clear to all that something 
had just occurred which necessitated the cruiser’s im- 
mediate departure. She was travelling westwards 
through the water at full speed, dense clouds of smoke 
belching from her three funnels, and her searchlight 
sweeping the ocean far ahead at intervals. 

“ I suppose she has just caught sight of something 
suspicious,” remarked Powell, who had just been re- 
lieved by Thomson in the engine-room. 

“ Either that or the Commander has just remem- 
bered an appointment he had with some one over New 
Guinea way,” replied the Captain. “ Anyhow, I reckon 
she’ll give the fellows who are after us all the excite- 
ment they want for some time.” 

With increased speed the Cinderella now held on 
her course, and soon rounded the northern end of the 
island; then swinging round the other side she was 
headed in a southerly direction, and in time reached a 
point opposite to that whence they had started. Sud- 
denly Jack uttered an exclamation and pointed up the 
hillside. “ Look there ! ” he cried. “ I see signals of 
some kind.” 

Instantly every night glass was levelled at the spot 
indicated, and a row of smouldering fires was made 
out. 


220 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ That might only be patches of timber set on fire 
by a lava stream,” said the Captain, “ so don’t build 
your hopes too high. They are not burning brightly 
as signals should.” 

“ No, but there is a design in the way the fires are 
placed,” cried Richard, greatly excited. “ Oh ! it may 
be my father and sister and Captain Grenville who lit 
them. See ! they form a triangle. Why, that is a 
regular signal.” 

“ They’ve gone out,” called Jack. “ I can’t see them 
now.” 

“ That settles it, then, boys,” said the Captain. “ I 
didn’t lay much stress on the fires, for they are easily 
enough caused on the slopes of a volcano, but they 
couldn’t go out themselves all at once. There are peo- 
ple there. Your orders, sir?” He turned to Tom, 
ringing down “ stop ” at the same time. 

“ I think we should land and investigate,” said Tom. 
“We can anchor here until daylight, and start out then. 
Those lights must be a good few miles inland.” 

“ About five. But we can never cut a path back 
through that scrub to the base of the mountain.” 

“ But if there are people there they must have found 
a track of some kind.” 

“ I think we should land near the house,” said Rich- 
ard. “ Perhaps some of the Kanakas could pick up a 
track leading from there inland. It seems likely that 
whoever are living back in the mountain, first had their 
camp where we found the ruins.” 

“ That is if they are the same people,” put in the 
Captain. “ And if so, we may reasonably conclude that 
your father is there too.” 

“ Then let us land now,” said Jack eagerly. “ We 


A German Cruiser Appears 221 

can go through the jungle, or whatever you like to call 
it, just as easily by night as by day.” 

Tom did not speak. The thought had just struck 
him that his father might be among the people on the 
mountain slope, but a prisoner; otherwise why had the 
fires been extinguished? He expressed his feelings to 
Richard, who was also thinking something of a similar 
nature. 

“ But,” asked the latter, “ why were the fires lit at 
all if they did not wish to draw attention? They could 
see us quite plainly in the brilliant moonlight.” 

“That is just the point,” answered Tom. “Either 
the signal was not meant for us, or else it was the 
work of some of the people without the knowledge of 
the others, and we have just witnessed the result.” 

“ Gentlemen, we can land now, if you wish,” inter- 
rupted the Captain. “ The old house is just over there. 
I don’t know that a night expedition is wise, all the 
same. We may be going into a trap, and there will 
likely be some very nasty animals and reptiles about at 
this time, which will make things a bit unpleasant.” 

“ You are right, Captain,” said Tom. “ We must 
move cautiously, although I feel myself that I would 
like to rush up there at once.” 

But the wisdom of waiting till morning was evident 
to all, although their boyish enthusiasm and love of 
adventure would have caused them to disregard all 
precaution, had not Tom sided with the Captain. 

At daylight, therefore, after some heated discussion 
as to who was to be left to take care of the ship, a 
party, consisting of Tom, Richard, Powell, Stansbury, 
two firemen, and two Kanakas, went ashore, and almost 
immediately one of the keen-eyed South Sea Islanders 


222 


The Pearl Seekers 


picked up a track grown over with creeping plants. 
Shouting to the others, he then ran along the little 
pad, breaking the resisting cobweb of vegetation by his 
momentum. The rest followed as closely as they could, 
but they could not keep pace with the fleet-footed Kan- 
akas and Manillamen, and floundered on until their 
path suddenly broke into one of the strange covered 
lava ways, and there they found their guides awaiting 
them. 

Progress was now much easier, the air being cool 
and pleasant in the darkened passage, and, travelling 
as swiftly as possible, they eventually reached the base 
of the mountain proper. For the next hour they toiled 
up the bed of their gully, and then the vegetation over- 
head ceased abruptly, and climbing out of the cleft they 
saw the Cinderella floating at anchor far away down 
over the tree-tops. 

“ We are very near the spot where the fires were,” 
said Stansbury, taking a rough bearing with his com- 
pass. He felt of great importance at that moment, 
for he was the senior of Richard by a year and a half, 
and therefore the leader of the expedition. 

“ I wish we had brought Kotay,” said Tom. “ He 
would have been sure to find something or other at the 
proper moment to guide us on.” 

“ I reckon I can do all that is needed in that line,” 
said Stansbury, a trifle hurt. “ There are tracks here 
as if a considerable number of people had passed, but 
I see no signs of any habitation. Ah! there are the 
marks of the fires. But there is no one here. What 
does it mean ? ” 

“ People not long away,” said one of the Kanakas. 

“ White fellow, one, two of him here this morning.” 


A German Cruiser Appears 223 

He pointed to some marks in the ashes, but the boys 
saw no significance in them. 

“How do you know?” Tom asked. “Tell us all 
you can about them.” 

“ One fellow big, heavy, slow. Other fellow no’ big, 
no’ heavy, no’ slow. This them feetmarks when him 
kick away fire this morning.” 

Sure enough there were two different sizes of foot- 
prints on the white-ash-strewn ground; but that they 
were human footmarks was certainly not clear to the 
boys, for they were merely oblong depressions in the’ 
ash and might have been caused by anything, at least 
so the comrades thought. 

“ But how do you know they were here this morn- 
ing ? ” asked Powell, and no sooner had he spoken than 
he would have given anything to recall his words. The 
answer to his question was obvious. 

But no one seemed to notice his error of perception, 
and all seemed to take it as information when the Kan- 
aka answered : “ Fire here last night. No ash till fire 
burn away. White fellows no’ walk on hot ash. Ash 
here white fellows walk on it, or how see their foot- 
marks? White fellow walk on ash this morning.” 

“ Of course,” cried Richard ; “ we must be dense not 
to have grasped that much. Apparently, too, they have 
been scattering the remnant of the fires as much as 
possible so as to hide their sites from any one who did 
not actually stumble across them.” 

The Kanaka grinned. Probably he did not under- 
stand what Richard said, but his grin signified that 
Richard had, in his opinion, spoken truly. 

“ From which I gather they are hiding from us,” 
hazarded Stansbury. 


224 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ My word, you bet your life. Hims white fellow up 
here no’ want see you here,” spoke the language-gifted 
Islander. “ Hims hide somewhere now.” 

The boys looked around. They were standing in a 
clearing which bore signs that part of it at least had 
been the work of man. A little way off a piece of 
ground was under cultivation, and closer inspection 
showed that the garden grew onions, cabbages, and 
potatoes. But where were the owners? No sign of 
them excepting the impressions in the scattered ash 
beds could be seen. Far beneath, the Cinderella was 
plainly visible, and the boys knew that their every move- 
ment was watched through powerful telescopes. To 
their right and left the bare hillside extended, broken 
only by the large fissures that led from the top of the 
mountain to the sea beach. Behind them a rocky bluff 
rose, sheer for a hundred feet and then tapered towards 
the peak, over which a slight cloud hung. Where, then, 
were the people who had set the fires alight and then 
were so eager to destroy them? No one could answer 
that question. 

Vainly the Kanakas and Manillamen tried to earn 
the praise of their masters by discovering some clue to 
their whereabouts. All traces stopped at the ashes of 
the fires. For two hours the party roamed about the 
hillside looking for some sign that might lead them to 
where the people were, and then both Tom and Richard 
were forced to the conclusion that their parents could 
not be the authors of the fires, for assuredly they would 
not have hidden from any one. Another hour was 
passed in further search, and then Stansbury, looking 
through his glasses, announced that the Cinderella was 
signalling “ Return at once.” 


A German Cruiser Appears 225 

Reluctantly, yet admitting that they could do noth- 
ing by remaining, unless perhaps run into some trap, 
for it seemed now that whoever lived on the island 
were not disposed to be friendly a start upon the return 
journey was made, and just at sundown, hungry, tired, 
and disappointed, they reached the shore. Soon after- 
wards the ship was under way again, and Ah Sing 
ministered to their comforts, and an hour later the 
Cinderella was alongside her mooring place beside the 
opening tables. 

“ Never mind, boys,” said the Captain, by way of' 
encouragement when he heard their story ; “ we’ll stick 
to our pearling business, and when we sell our first 
cargo of shell we can go and hunt all over the Pacific 
for your people.” 

“ I am sure that this island has something to do 
with their fate,” said Richard ; “ I seem to hear my 
father and sister calling on me in my dreams even.” 

“ We’ll find them, Richard,” said Tom. “ We’ll re- 
verse matters and chase the Adventurers, as they call 
themselves, and force them to tell us where our people 
are. We know they are alive somewhere.” 

But nothing more could be done that night, and 
soon only the night watches, which consisted of Thom- 
son, Kotay, and a Kanaka, remained on deck; the rest 
were sleeping. 

In the morning Tom and Richard went round the 
tables and found fourteen splendid pearls in the ledge 
along the lower side. One or two of them were larger 
than any they had ever seen, and Kotay expressed 
the opinion that one was the largest and finest in the 
world. 

“ How can we leave this place now ? ” asked Rich- 

(b 761) I* 


226 The Pearl Seekers 

ard ; “ those people may come down and rob us at any 
moment ! ” 

“ I don’t think they will trouble to carry away much 
shell,” said the Captain ; “ and you will have to go 
round the tables every morning before we sail and take 
all the pearls cast out during the night.” 

“ An’ before Ah Sing gets up,” added Kotay, who 
chanced to overhear. “ Him yellow chow, can’t help 
stealin’ pearl if he gets chance.” 

“ There is something in that too,” the Captain 
laughed ; “ stealing is an instinct with some people, es- 
pecially Orientals. Some of them would steal the bris- 
tles from your tooth-brush; but I don’t think there is 
much chance of any one stealing here.” 

“ Oh, all chows an’ Malays take pearl. They no’ 
call it steal. They no’ take anything else; but devil 
must be in pearl, for yellow fellows can’t help steal 
him.” 

“Yah! Getee outee, you allee samee yellow fellow 
you’sel’. Wha’ fo’ you tellee bosses Chinaman no’ help 
steal? You big fool. Get kickee outee some day.” 

Ah Sing stood at the far end of the tables, the 
picture of innocent, childlike indignation. 

“What are you doing here, Ah Sing?” asked Tom. 

“ Me come asho’ to catch bleakfast. You likee wilee 
duck? Wilee duck vely good when Ah Sing cook him. 
Catchee two.” He held up two ducks. 

“ Never mind the wild ducks just now,” said the 
Captain sternly ; “ how many pearls have you taken ? ” 

“ Me no steal any pelil. My eye dlop on wile duck 
flyin’ ovel tables, an’ me come asho’ to catch him. Him 
fly down an’ steal something flom table an’ I knockee 
him down. Think him got pelils in mouf,” 


A German Cruiser Appears 227 

Ah Sing was right. Each of the duck’s bills when 
opened showed several pearls. 

“ This is worse than ever. Some one will always 
have to stay here to frighten the birds now,” said 
Richard; and all, excepting Ah Sing, laughed. 

“If you shoot the bird that steals pearls we shall 
have to do without a cook,” the Captain said. Then 
addressing Ah Sing : “ You tell the wild ducks that 

our engineers are fitting up lightning along the tables, 
and if they touch any more pearls they will die the 
same way as the devil-fish did last week, and have their 
pig-tails cut too.” 

“ Me tellee them, Captain. Me in big hully just 
now, get bleakfast leady.” 

“All right, clear out.” 

The Celestial ran up the gangway and disappeared 
in the region of the cooking galley. 

“ It seems Kotay was correct in his estimation of 
Chinamen after all,” said Tom, examining the additional 
pearls they had now received. The Japanese had gone 
on deck to assist the cook, and incidentally to have a 
pleasant little discussion with him anent various things. 

“ Yes,” Richard agreed, “ we’ll have to watch our 
own men now as well as outsiders.” 

“ I don’t think so,” the Captain remarked. “ Even 
Ah Sing did not steal the pearls with any intention of 
robbing you; he simply could not resist the temptation 
of lifting them when he saw them in the pocket, and 
probably would have given them back before long. The 
rest of the crew are too much afraid of Thomson’s 
lightning to touch anything he has had a hand in mak- 
ing, and I don’t believe that Ah Sing will put a hand 
on the tables again.” 


228 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ The oysters are beginning to smell badly now/’ 
observed Tom ; “ I suppose we ought to burn or bury 
those already opened.” 

“ We’ll turn the crew on to that directly,” said the 
Captain, “ and then we’ll cross this little inlet and build 
a kind of wharf lower down, so as to be away from the 
odours which always must attend pearling work.” 

After breakfast, the Kanakas, who did not appear 
to be in the least fastidious, gathered all the open shell 
and washed them. They then cleaned the long table, 
making it ready for the next cargo, and buried all the 
putrefying carcases. Meanwhile, the others had cut 
away overhanging branches and part of the under- 
growths on the opposite side of the stream until the 
Cinderella could be safely berthed alongside. After- 
wards the cleansed shell were stacked near, and then 
Kotay brought out his purloined gramophone and in- 
flicted “ Home, Sweet Home ” upon his enforced listen- 
ers. 

As it was Saturday afternoon, and the party were 
already in possession of considerable pearl wealth, as 
well as a fair quantity of shell, it was decided to spend 
the rest of the day in a shooting and trapping excursion 
for the benefit of their larder. This was attended with 
great success, and a stock of ducks, pigs, turkeys, and 
various kinds of other game was placed in crates on the 
forward deck for future use. A supply of fresh water 
was also taken on board, and some general repairs made 
throughout the ship. Thus when the sun went down 
that night the Cinderella was well equipped and prepared 
for almost any contingency. 

On Sunday, as was usual with them, all rested from 
their labours, and on Monday morning at daylight the 


A German Cruiser Appears 229 

Cinderella cleared the gap, bound once more for the 
pearling grounds. 

Once more the partners took turn about among the 
huge submarine fern-like formations, while Kotay con- 
ducted operations on the shallower levels. By noon a 
large quantity of shell had been brought on deck, and 
Powell was just manoeuvring below to obtain a couple 
of very large oysters he saw under a coral moss-covered 
rock, when Tom called through the telephone, “ We’re 
hauling you up, there is a steamer in sight.” At the 
same minute the diver was swiftly raised, and in an- 
other moment was standing on deck looking at a great 
smoke-cloud bearing down upon them. 

“ Get into the engine-room and help Thomson,” the 
Captain cried ; “ shake up the firemen, and get steam up 
at once. Here, all you others, throw that shell over- 
board, and lower that patent diving gear down the 
hatchway. Pitch the ordinary dress over too. Stans- 
bury, get into your uniform and take the bridge, and, as 
soon as there is enough steam to move, head her south- 
west. You boys, as soon as the decks are clear of every- 
thing in connection with pearling, get to your cabins 
and dress, and report to me for further orders.” 

The Captain was instantly obeyed in all he said. The 
firemen had rushed below; Thomson was already in the 
engine-room, and Stansbury had disappeared as soon as 
the Captain had finished speaking to him. Tom and 
Jack without hesitation sprang at once to assist the Kan- 
akas in throwing the result of their morning’s work back 
into the ocean, and Richard, Kotay, and Ah Sing turned 
their attention to the diving apparatus without a word. 
Powell at the first order had gone below to the stoke- 
hole, and almost immediately the boilers began to blow 


230 


The Pearl Seekers 


off steam. Then Stansbury reappeared dressed smartly 
as an officer in tropical attire, and took his place on the 
bridge. 

“ Now, lads, no excitement,” cried the Captain. 
“ That is the German cruiser coming down on us, and 
we must keep our nerves. I am going to dress now, 
and you, Richard, put on your uniform also, and be 
ready to act as chief officer.” The Captain went into 
his cabin and Stansbury took command. 

“ Up anchor,” he ordered, and in response the winch 
at the forecastle head began to creak and the anchor 
came up swiftly. “ Make it fast on board,” he next 
cried, and the crew, assisted by the boys, obeyed. “ Full 
speed ahead ! ” he rang down to the engine-room, and 
as the engines began to throb and the propeller to churn 
the water he swung the Cinderella round to the south- 
west. Then he seemed to hesitate, and threw an ap- 
pealing glance at Richard who was still engaged with 
the disposal of the diving gear. “ We are south-west 
now,” he cried. 

“ That is correct, then,” answered Richard without 
looking up. “ That is what the Captain ordered.” 

“ But that course will take us right across the Ger- 
man’s bows. We are running to meet her. We’ll be 
alongside in half an hour.” 

“ Never mind, the Captain makes no mistakes ; he 
knows his business,” replied Richard, finishing his work 
and running below. 

Stansbury took his bearings carefully, and headed 
the ship towards the rapidly-nearing war-boat. He also 
caused the Commonwealth flag to be run up to the mast- 
head. Ten minutes later the Captain, resplendent in a 


A German Cruiser Appears 231 

white dress with gold bands on his sleeves and cap, and 
bars across his shoulders, was lolling in a deck-chair 
with a cigar in his mouth he had cut in two before 
lighting. Tom and Jack dressed in flannels leaned care- 
lessly against the rail and scrutinised the big cruiser 
through their glasses, and Kotay, dressed very neatly as 
steward, flitted about the deck. 

“ No, boys, there are hardly enough of us. Get 
Thomson and Powell up too,” the Captain remarked. 
“We have ten minutes yet, and there must be nothing 
suspicious about us. The engines will run themselves 
for the next five minutes, and we’ll be stopped by that 
time. Instruct the firemen to be in evidence also when 
we stop. We daren’t appear to be under-manned. Ah, 
there goes her signal ! ” 

“ She is flying ‘ Heave to,’ ” cried Stansbury from 
the bridge. 

“ Then do so,” the Captain answered. “ We can’t 
very well refuse to do what a war-boat demands.” 

The Cinderella stopped; the cruiser did likewise, and 
a smoking steam pinnace on her deck was lowered and 
manned by a crew of smart-looking sailors, headed by a 
gorgeously-dressed officer sitting in the stern. 

Captain Inglis leaned over the side as the boat drew 
near. 

“ Who are you ? ” demanded the officer in command, 
in a strong German accent. 

“ Cinderella , Sydney,” answered Captain Inglis. “ I 
presume you are really what your name says you are? 
Sorry I can’t pronounce it.” 

“ I am coming on board,” said the officer shortly. 
“ I must examine your papers and cargo.” 


232 The Pearl Seekers 

“ Very well, I’ll lower the gangway for you.” The 
Captain signed for this to be done, and immediately the 
officer and two sailors came on board. 

“ This is my chief officer,” said Captain Inglis, in- 
troducing Richard. “ These gentlemen over there are 
the owners. I am sorry we can’t do much in the way 
of entertainment as this is a strictly temperance ship.” 

“ I am equally sorry to put you to any trouble, sir,” 
replied the German stiffly, “ but my Commander, Cap- 
tain Gluckenstein, has instructions to search all vessels 
within these waters.” 

“ Far be it from me to object to any officer of the 
German navy doing his duty,” the Captain said, and 
Stansbury, who had come down from the bridge to swell 
the numbers on deck, remarked to Thomson, “ At least, 
not while a German cruiser is alongside with ten-inch 
guns trained on him.” 

“ Then may I ask to see your papers } ” continued 
the officer. 

“ Certainly ; bring the ship’s Articles of Registra- 
tion, Stansbury, and the manifest.” 

Stansbury brought them, and the partners clustered 
around to hear the officer’s comments. 

“ Cinderella ” he read, spelling the name slowly. 
“ Registered at the Port of Sydney, New South Wales. 
Steel vessel of two hundred tons. Owner, Tom Gren- 
ville. Master’s name, Robert Inglis.” He glanced down 
the document and then handed it back. “That is all 
right,” he said. “ Now I would like to see your mani- 
fest.” 

“ Here it is, sir,” said Stansbury. The German took 
the paper. 


A German Cruiser Appears 233 

“ Why ! ” he exclaimed,, “ what is this ? This is no 
manifest. It is only a list of stores.” 

“ Which is all we have on board excepting those 
few items at the bottom, which, as you see, are some 
articles of machinery for ship-repairing, and several 
cases of material for the use of shipwrecked people.” 
Stansbury again was the speaker, for being junior offi- 
cer he was in charge of these matters. 

“ I must search the ship,” said the German. “ No 
ship comes here without having some purpose on hand 
other than your manifest indicates.” 

“ Then, sir, you are at liberty to do so,” said Cap- 
tain Inglis coldly, and the boys felt a shiver run through 
them as they thought of their diving gear. 

Calling some more sailors on board to assist, the 
German, aided by another junior officer, made a careful 
examination of the ship, and found nothing to excite 
their suspicions till in the forward hold they came across 
the diver. 

“ Ah, vat vas dis ? ” the younger officer cried. His 
English was not so perfect as the other’s. 

“ Thomson’s new patent sounding apparatus,” said 
Stansbury, who accompanied him. 

“Vat? Sir William Thomson’s new sounder? I 
haf not seen it yet. Wonderful! Lord Kelvin is a 
great inventor, truly.” 

“ He is,” agreed Stansbury, with a face like a sphinx. 
“ They tell me he is going in for flying-machines now. 
No, that is not an air-pump, that is where the vacuum 
is produced which causes the mud at the bottom to rise 
in this large cylinder.” 

“ And what are these used for ? ” asked the superior 


234 


The Pearl Seekers 


officer, who had now gone through the entire ship, in- 
dicating the mechanical arms. 

“ Oh, these are for anchoring the sounder to the 
bottom in a place where there might be currents,” an- 
swered Stansbury, and the partners, who had now gath- 
ered at the foot of the hatch, marvelled at his wonderful 
inventive abilities. 

“ I see dere vas a telephone attachment,” observed 
the younger German, who was of a very inquisitive 
disposition. “ I vas never knew dere vas any sounds at 
the bottom of the sea.” 

“ Oh, yes, sometimes there are,” replied Stansbury. 
“ I’ve heard them myself.” 

“ It is a wonderful piece of mechanism,” said the 
elder admiringly. “ What is the inside like ? ” 

“ Oh, something like an enormous thermometer. 
There’s a column of mercury in it which rises and falls, 
and I don’t know what else.” 

“ Most remarkable. I suppose we’ll be getting them 
soon for special sounding duties. Why do you use such 
heavy cables with it? One would almost think a man 
had to go inside.” 

“ Well, you see, we don’t want to risk losing the 
thing among some rocks or beds of sea vegetation. It 
is as yet the only one Thomson has constructed.” 

“ Mine Gott ! Is he a friend of yours ? ” 

“ Rather. He is a great friend of Mr. Grenville, 
dur owner, and we are sort of trying the thing in a way. 
Doubtless they will be on the market some day.” 

“ Ah yes, I suppose so. Well, we must go. Thanks 
for your explanation. I take a great interest in these 
things.” 

The Germans ascended to the deck, where the officer 


A German Cruiser Appears 235 

turned to Tom and the Captain and said, “ Gentlemen, 
I feel I owe you an apology for this detention, but we’ve 
got a lot of regular police- work to do just now. There’s 
a big gang of pirates, or something akin to that, roam- 
ing these seas in this vicinity, and we’ve been ordered 
to sink them. Of course we knew you had no connec- 
tion with them, because you did not run away as they 
have done twice already in the fastest craft I have ever 
seen, when we appeared; but, do you know, the Com- 
mander and some of us were almost convinced we had 
caught a pearling craft poaching on our preserves when 
we saw you ? ” 

“Ha! ha!” laughed Captain Inglis. “Your Com- 
mander, with all due respect to him, must be very imag- 
inative if he thought any craft could go pearling here. 
Do you know we are floating just now in a regular hole 
in the ocean ? ” 

“ I believe that. The only land about here rises very 
steep at any rate. We were off its reef the other night 
when we thought we had picked up our game. But I 
must go now. I trust you will not make much of our 
stopping you in the Australian papers. It was in the 
interests of the commercial world as much as Germany 
that we did so.” 

“ Sir, you did your duty,” said Captain Inglis, “ and 
if that sometimes is unpleasant, well, I have had to do 
things myself in the way of duty that I didn’t care about, 
and I know the feeling. We’ll make no mention of our 
being stopped anywhere, although, of course, I must log 
the fact.” 

“ Oh, surely. I trust, sir, the result of your sound- 
ing work will be published soon.” The last remark was 
addressed to Tom. 


236 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ You shall have a copy of the first book I write 
sent you/’ said Tom, blushing furiously, for he was not 
used to prevaricating. 

“About that island, sir,” said the Captain, as the 
Germans re-entered their pinnace. “ Do you mind giv- 
ing us its position? It is not on my chart.” 

“ One hundred and eighty-five degrees thirty minutes 
east of Greenwich, and four degrees two minutes three 
seconds south of the equator,” answered the lieutenant. 
“ We did not go ashore, but I fancy you’ll find fresh 
water there. Beware of pirates, though; they may run 
across you any minute.” 

The boat departed, and soon after the big cruiser 
lifted the pinnace to its deck, and with a courteous reply 
to the lowered flag of the Cinderella went off at full 
speed to the south-east. 

Captain Inglis went on the bridge, where Richard 
and Stansbury had been relieving each other as often 
as possible, so as to create the impression of their both 
being on the deck. 

“ I have often thought,” the Captain observed, ring- 
ing down “ Full speed ahead,” “ that it is not the man 
who tells the most lies who is the greatest liar, and I 
have noticed frequently that a man can often lie more 
effectively by holding his tongue.” 

“ That sounds like a paradox,” said Tom. “ Ex- 
plain, please.” 

“ Well, there’s Stansbury, he lied outright, and I’ll 
not say but what he had to; however, he’s gifted that 
way and it was no strain on him, but you lied more 
than he did by not saying a word.” 

“How, Captain?” asked Tom in surprise. “I — I 
did nothing.” 


A German Cruiser Appears 237 

“ No, that’s just it. You said nothing and did noth- 
ing. But you wore that university blazer and crest, and 
the officer concluded you were using this ship for deep- 
sea sounding. However, I suppose we are, in a way. 
You can get into your working clothes, gentlemen; the 
circus is over, and we’ll be back to pick up our shell in 
twenty minutes.” 

Before the day was done they had recovered their 
lost shell and diving dress, and about a ton of additional 
bivalves. Then they went back to their island and 
slept the sleep of the tired and weary. 

Meanwhile the big German cruiser was flying 
through the seas with searchlight thrown far ahead. 


CHAPTER XI 


Tom has a Strange Adventure 

During the week that followed the Cinderella made 
daily journeys to the pearling grounds, returning each 
evening with the spoils won from the ocean bed. A 
general system of work had now been arranged. The 
ship left the island every morning soon after daylight 
when the partners had gone round the opening tables 
to collect any pearls “ cast ” during the night, and Ah 
Sing prepared breakfast while en route to the submerged 
banks. The work of the day was then started, and 
continued methodically until an hour before sundown, 
the waters after that becoming too dark for the divers 
to see properly. Thomson and Powell tried to prolong 
their available period of work by fitting electric lamps 
to weighted wires at the control of the operator below, 
but the slimy eel-like creatures that issued from gloomy 
cavernous depths and surrounded the diver when the 
waters became dark proved too much for the nerves of 
all, and work under such circumstances had to be dis- 
continued. Many strange encounters took place on the 
deeper levels; sharks, sword-fish, octopoda, and long 
serpent-like creatures at various times tried conclusions 
with the diver, but Thomson’s arrangement for turning 
the ocean into a huge electrolyte, with the protected 
diver and unprotected enemy as electrodes, always de- 
cided the battle in favour of its user, until the boys 
238 


239 


A Strange Adventure 

ceased to pay much attention to any new denizen of the 
deep that appeared. When they returned to the island 
at night the shells were discharged and laid in position 
upon the long inclined platform, the shells which had 
opened during the day being cleaned and removed to 
make room for the latest arrivals. Thus the days passed, 
and pearls and pearl shell accumulated. 

Nothing further had been seen or heard of the mys- 
terious residents of the island, and the boys were be- 
ginning to forget all about them, although Tom and 
Richard often wondered vaguely if the other side of 
the great mountain could reveal anything to them as to 
the fate of their parents. But the mountain was silent, 
except for the occasional rumbling sounds which ac- 
companied an eruption. 

Twice the Cinderella had sighted a smoke cloud on 
the horizon, and each time had been ready to run, but 
the smoke passed on in a course which would not bring 
the steamer producing it within sight of the Cinderella, 
and as the latter showed no smoke herself while at 
anchor, and was therefore invisible at the distance, the 
Captain and the partners had kept an eye on the stranger 
but gone on with their work. 

Sunday duly came round, and the Cinderella lay 
safely at her moorings in the sheltered and hidden haven. 
All were pleased with the week’s work, and began to 
look forward to a voyage to Thursday Island, or even 
Singapore, to dispose of their shell, and to obtain fresh 
supplies and equipments. The Captain was telling Rich- 
ard of the strange religious beliefs of some of the South 
Sea Islanders when Tom stepped on deck, after having 
spent an hour cleaning up his cabin; Thomson was re- 
clining in a deck-chair probably thinking out some new 


240 


The Pearl Seekers 


idea; Jack was intently watching the antics of some 
gaudily-plumaged birds flying about the mast-head ; 
Stansbury was reading an old magazine, and the entire 
crew were asleep under an improvised awning on the 
forward deck. Tom did not feel inclined to interrupt 
any of his comrades and, lowering himself down the 
rope ladder at the stern, he resolved to have a walk up 
the covered ravine where he could think over the 
mystery of his father’s disappearance in quietness and 
peace. 

The air was cool and pleasant in the gully, and Tom 
walked quickly. Soon he reached the fork leading to 
the Adventurers’ depot, but he wished to go up the hill, 
and so went on. In time he reached the mounted gun 
and paused to look at it. Thomson had connected his 
wires, and the gun was loaded and trained on the gap 
in the outer reef. Tom sat down on the case of ammu- 
nition and gazed seawards. As far as the eye could 
reach the ocean stretched before him, scintillating in 
the intense sunlight like a mass of sparkling gems. 
Away to the west he could see where the sunken island 
lay, and he wondered what chances his partners and he 
would have had in making any fortune if it had been 
above water. Clearly, none. The Adventurers would 
have found it long ago. Then his eyes fell on a tiny 
dark cloud crawling over the horizon, and he watched it 
idly for a moment. “ That may be the forerunner of 
the rain clouds,” he muttered. “ The Captain says the 
rainy season is already overdue.” 

Suddenly he sprang to his feet. “ It is smoke ! ” 
he cried. He turned to rush down to the Cinderella 
to give the news, and then his heart bounded wildly. 
A figure had jumped out from a crevice in the side of 


241 


A Strange Adventure 

the ravine, and was running down its bed about two 
hundred yards in front of him. Instantly Tom forgot 
the suspicious cloud of smoke and everything else. 
“ Thomson was right after all,” he muttered, bounding 
in pursuit. “ I’ll see if I can run the fellow down.” 

Tom was a splendid runner when he had a straight 
and level course before him, and he was soon conscious 
that he was gaining on whoever was in front. He was 
somewhat puzzled, however, by the appearance of the 
person, and he had made up half the intervening dis- 
tance before he realised that it was the dress that was 
strange. 

“ Why, it looks more like a woman than a man ! ” 
he said to himself. “ That is the reason I am gaining 
so much.” 

The figure turned into a smaller gully leading out 
of the deep cleft about a hundred yards above the main 
fork, but Tom was too close to be misled, and followed 
without hesitation. “ By Jupiter! It is a girl!” he 
ejaculated a minute later. “What is she doing here?” 
He could hear her laboured breathing now, and he saw 
that her flowing hair was long and black. With an in- 
creased effort he almost gained her side, then he slack- 
ened his pace abruptly. “ Why ! ” he muttered, “ what 
am I doing? What right have I to chase a girl this way 
even although we are on a south-sea island. She is 
probably a native and was watching me out of sheer 
curiosity.” 

But she was not a native. She suddenly stopped, 
and Tom found himself staring at the prettiest girl he 
had ever seen. Her face was flushed with her exertions, 
and her eyes flashed dangerously. Incidentally Tom 
was also looking down the tube of a revolver she held 

(b 761) Q 


242 


The Pearl Seekers 


in her hand. She appeared to be about seventeen. Tom 
halted with a suddenness equal to her own. 

“If you come another step I will shoot you/’ she 
said in tones which charmed Tom’s heart on the spot. 

He raised his helmet with an intuitive politeness, 
but so surprised was he that he could not speak for a 
moment. How imperious were her looks, her voice 
and bearing, and how most remarkably strange that 
she should be on a south-sea island instead of in a 
royal court. But she was waiting for him to speak, 
and as he looked at her a light dawned on him and 
thrilled him with strange emotion. 

“ I beg your pardon,” he said, calling his natural 
coolness to his aid by an effort of will. “ I am very 
sorry that my behaviour was so rude, but I really did 
not know you were a girl until a moment before you 
turned, and even then I did not dream you were an 
English girl.” 

“ Indeed,” replied the girl scornfully. “ Well, now 
that you have made the discovery do you intend to go 
back to your gang, or am I to shoot you ? ” 

Tom smiled, “ You may shoot if you like,” he said, 
“ but wouldn’t that be a much easier task if you loaded 
your weapon first ? ” 

“ How do you know it is not loaded ? ” she de- 
manded, allowing her revolver to drop slightly, but 
bringing it back again quickly. 

“ I didn’t know when I spoke, but of course it is 
fairly evident now that I was right. Here, take mine, 
if you are still afraid of me.” Tom drew his own re- 
volver from his belt and handed it to her ceremoniously. 

“ Thank you,” she said, somewhat mollified. “ I will 
take the cartridges if you do not mind. We are out of 



IF YOU COME ANOTHER STEP I WILL SHOOT YOU,” SHE SAIL 





















243 


A Strange Adventure 

them at present.” As she spoke she opened the breech 
of Tom’s Smith and Wesson and ejected the charge, 
then picking up the scattered cartridges she deftly 
loaded her own with them, Tom watching her mean- 
while with great interest. When she had finished she 
turned to Tom and said, “ I must request you to leave 
me. I really can shoot and I do not wish to kill you. 
It was very kind of you to give me the cartridges.” 

“ Oh, I can give you cases of them,” Tom replied 
airily, ignoring her first words. “ But will you not allow 
me to introduce myself ? ” 

“ I do not wish to know you, sir. Your people are 
our enemies and will suffer severely for what they have 
done to us. We are not so helpless as you think.” 

“ I am indeed glad to know that you are not help- 
less,” replied Tom, “ but you mistake when you say we 
are your enemies, as I think I can easily prove to you. 
And I am not going away.” 

“ If Mr. Murray even sees you he will not rest until 
he has killed you.” 

“ Who is Mr. Murray? I wasn’t aware that this 
delightful island contained such fearful people.” 

“ Mr. Murray is not a fearful person. He is a gen- 
tleman, and has been very good to me.” 

“ Then, Miss Preston, suppose we go together and 
interview him ? ” 

“ What ! I go with you ? Then your gang have 
really started to make war on women? I will not go 
with you, but I will shoot you.” 

“ You said that before, my dear girl — pardon the 
familiarity, but I am not much accustomed to dealing 
with young ladies — and notwithstanding the knowledge 
that you now can shoot, I am going with you. Your 


244 


The Pearl Seekers 

brother is my comrade, and on his behalf I am going 

to take care of you until I place you in his charge ” 

“ What do you mean ? My brother ! Where is he ? 
He is not a member of your gang too ? ” 

“ He is very much a member, he is a partner ; but 
we are not a gang of scoundrels like the people you are 
thinking of. We are their sworn enemies and came here 

to look for you, your father, and my father ” 

“ Oh ! Then who are you ? ” 

“ Tom Grenville.” 

“ What ! Captain Grenville’s son ? ” She peered 
into his face with large inquiring eyes and then cried, 
“ Yes, I see the resemblance. We are saved ! Come 
quickly. We must tell Mr. Murray.” Then like a 
woman she burst into tears and sobbed bitterly, “ Oh, 
why did you not come sooner?” she murmured. “ You 
are too late now.” 

Tom did not quite know what to do. He could deal 
with men, be they friend or foe, but when it came to 
beautiful sobbing young ladies he was at a disadvantage. 

“ Let us go to your people,” he said impulsively, 
taking her hand in his own. “ We have a steamer here 
and everything ready for you, and we can send the 
pirates to the bottom of the sea if they come near this 
island.” 

Suddenly she stopped crying and looked up in his 
face, but she did not withdraw her hand. “ Have you 
really got men and guns on your ship ? ” she asked, and 
then probably for the first time she noticed that Tom 
was an extremely handsome youth. 

“ We have,” he answered. “ We rather fancy we 
can risk a fight with the wreckers any day. Why, 
Thomson will invent something to cause their boat to 


A Strange Adventure 245 

sink or their guns to burst, whenever they get near us. 
He is a wonderful fellow. Powell can do his share of 
that sort of work too, and Jack will make some powerful 
explosive which will make them think a volcano has 
burst under them. Then there is Captain Inglis, who 
will fight any two of them single-handed, and Stansbury, 
and Richard your brother who can do anything. We 
have also Kotay, who is wonderfully smart, and at least 
a couple of Manillamen who can be relied upon.” 

“ You have not said anything about yourself.” She 
looked into his eyes innocently. 

“ Oh, I am not much use,” he said deprecatingly. 
“ But tell me, how many people are there with you ? ” 
“Only Mr. Murray, the engineer, and myself now. 
Last week they took away my father and Captain Gren- 
ville while we were out trapping some pigs ” 

Tom’s heart sank. “ Last week? ” he cried. “ Were 
you all together until last week ? ” 

“ Yes, they wanted to know where some island was, 
and took them away to show them.” 

Tom thought rapidly, and he recalled the conversa- 
tion Thomson and he had overheard in the Adventur- 
ers’ depot. They were to sail in parallel courses east and 
west, and if unsuccessful make endeavour to compel 
Captain Grenville to find the island for them. Hope 
again rose high within him, and he realised what the 
sinking of the island now meant. The Adventurers 
would sail about the spot looking for it, and of course 
would not find it, and if hjs father really did tell them 
the exact spot they would have to make preparations 
for diving for the shell, which would necessitate their 
return to their depot. At any rate they would have to 
spend considerable time diving, and meanwhile the Cin - 


246 


The Pearl Seekers 


derella could depart in search of the German cruiser 
and inform its Commander of the whereabouts of the 
pirates. Retribution would thus be brought about ; Rich- 
ard and he would have their parents restored, and all 
would end happily. 

Yet it was very pleasant just now walking along the 
shaded rock cleft hand in hand with his fair companion. 
What would his comrades say when he brought her 
back with him, and who was this Murray? 

Suddenly a thought struck him. “ Our ship is only 
about a mile away,” he said. “ Perhaps you would like 
to come down to it with me? We have ladies’ shoes 
and dresses on board ” 

He stopped. His companion was blushing furiously, 
and he saw that he had made a mistake in alluding to 
such matters, although he was prompted by the rather 
strange material of which his companion’s dress was 
made, and the knowledge that her shoes were improvised 
from the skins of some animal. 

“ Oh no,” she stammered, “ I must go and dress 
first. I couldn’t go among such a number of gentlemen 
like this.” 

Tom did not quite see why she couldn’t, and won- 
dered vaguely what dressing meant on a south-sea is- 
land. “ As you wish,” he said, “ but we must get this 
Mr. Murray and you on board as soon as possible so 
that we can take you to a safe place. By Jupiter! your 
brother will be surprised when he sees you. I will have 
my cabin altered for you; it is the best on the ship.” 

“ Are there any ladies in your party ? ” she asked, 
as he helped her up the sides on to a pad leading across 
the face of the slope. 


247 


A Strange Adventure 

“ Well, no,” he answered, wondering how they had 
neglected to have a companion for Miss Preston with 
them. “ You see, ours is not a pleasure party. We left 
Britain on a pearl-fishing adventure and we are all boys 
— men, I mean — but Captain Inglis and Stansbury have 
plenty of lady friends, and we’ll get some of them to 
keep you company.” 

“ I don’t need any one for a companion,” she pouted. 
“ I am not a school-girl, although Mr. Murray gives 
me lessons every day. I can cook and do lots of things.” 

“ But you will not have to do anything. There are 
surely enough of us to see that our only lady guest is 
well attended. Besides, we will leave you at Cooktown 
while we go in search of Mr. Preston and my father.” 

“Then you do not want me with you? You seem 
very eager to get me left somewhere. I will not stay 
anywhere while you and my brother and your friends 
are looking for my father. I am coming with you, I 
don’t care what you do, so there ! ” 

Tom was again nonplussed. He felt he would like 
to tell her that nothing would give him greater pleasure 
than to have her always with them, but he knew that 
would not be the proper thing to say, and besides, there 
would be Thomson and Powell and Davis always an- 
noying her. They walked on in silence. 

“ Why do you not speak, Mr. Grenville ? Are you 
tired of me already ? ” 

Tom started. “ Please do not call me that again. 
I hardly knew you were speaking to me. My name is 
Tom.” 

“ Oh, how nice ; I like Tom.” 

“ You have not told me yours.” 


248 The Pearl Seekers 

“ Flora is my name, but I don’t know that we have 
known each other long enough to call each other by 
our Christian names — I’ll ask Mr. Murray.” 

“Hang Mr. Murray!” exclaimed Tom. “On a 
desert island we can do what we like. We can be as 
formal as you please when we reach civilised ports 
again.” 

“ Very well, Tom, it is agreed. But you must wait 
here now until I go on and tell Mr. Murray what has 
happened. He might shoot you if he saw you coming 
along with me. He is on the watch night and day— — ” 

“ By Jupiter, Flora,” said Tom, “ there may be two 
of us shooting before long ! ” 

“There, you are jealous already;” she laughed and 
ran out into the open. But Tom would not stay behind. 
He was not afraid of any man, and did not see why he 
should hide from this wonderful Mr. Murray. He also 
stepped out from the forest vegetation and looked 
around. He was surprised. A little way in front of 
him lay the scene of their fruitless search only a week 
before; he knew they had been rising considerably dur- 
ing the latter part of their journey along the bush pad, 
but he had had no idea they were crossing it to the east- 
ern side of the island. A moment’s reflection, however, 
showed what might have been observed before had not 
every one been so much engaged. The mountain fell 
away at a much steeper angle on the eastern slope, and 
several miles of flat wooded country stretched from its 
base to the beach. This of course they had known, but 
it had not struck any of them that so many miles’ travel 
from the shore ought to have brought them to within a 
couple of miles or so from the head of the inlet on the 
other side. 


249 


A Strange Adventure 

His father, then, and Mr. Preston and Flora had 
been close to them after all. “ Oh, why,” he asked him- 
self, “ did we not explore the island thoroughly at first? ” 
He did not remember that they had done so to the best 
of their ability. But he was not given much time to 
think over the strange workings of fate. With a start 
he realised that Flora had disappeared somewhere; a 
moment before she had been in full view running over 
the ground where the fires had been, but now it was as 
if the ground had swallowed her. 

He ran towards the wall of rocks where he had seen 
her last, but her moccasmed feet had left no track on 
the hard ground, and while he looked round a voice 
above him spoke. 

“Just bide where you are, ma man, till I examine 
your credentials,” it said, and looking up Tom saw a 
middle-aged man with a steel-grey beard perched in a 
slight fissure in the rocks. He held a shot gun across 
his knee, the muzzle pointed in Tom’s direction. A 
thrill of joy shot through Tom’s being. There were only 
two people in the place, and this elderly ungainly person 
must be Mr. Murray. 

“ Oh, they’re all right, Mr. Murray,” gaily responded 
Tom. “ You may put down your gun.” 

“ I dinna ken about that. You’re vera free wi’ my 
name for a stranger. When did the gang begin to 
enlist boys in their dirty work ? ” 

“ I am not a member of any gang. I am Tom Gren- 
ville, the son of Captain Grenville of the Southern Cross, 
and with some more boys have come to look for him and 
his companions.” 

“ Eh, what did you say ? ” cried the Scot in astonish- 
ment. “ Na, na, it will no’ dae; try some other yarn. 


250 


The Pearl Seekers 


I am a bit too old in the horn to be caught wi’ a story 
like that. Staund still, or I’ll blow your heid into the 
gully there.” 

“ Very well,” said Tom, throwing himself on the 
ground. “ Miss Preston will explain things, and when 
you have quite satisfied yourself as to my being who 
Fve said, let me know.” 

And he did know very soon. He had cast his gaze 
seawards, and was calculating the distance between their 
present position and the nearest civilised port — he was 
not quite certain whether it was Samarai or Cooktown — 
when Murray stood beside him, his face beaming with 
smiles of gladness. 

“ Eh, ma laddie,” he cried, grasping both Tom’s hands 
in his own great horny ones, “ I did ye an injustice the 
noo. Miss Flora has just told me that you’re wi’ her 
brother Richard, an’ that you’ve been looking for us for 
some time. Noo that I see your face, too, I ken ye fine ; 
you are verra like the Captain. But if you have a boat 
o’ ony kind, tak’ me awa’ to some place where I can 
gather some men together. I’ve sworn to dee on deck or 
get the Captain and Mr. Preston oot o’ their hands.” 

“ The men are here now, Mr. Murray ; our boat is 
moored only about two miles from here. But why did 
you not show yourselves last week, when we came up 
here looking for you ? ” 

“ Haud your tongue, laddie. Ye dinna ken what I 
have gone through this last few days wi’ that wee lassie 
to protect at a’ costs. Some time ago, when we were 
together, a ship sailed inside the reef doon there flying 
signals which read, ‘ Show lights, we are coming back.’ 
That caused great excitement, for we had long given 
up hope of any ship cornin’ this way, an’ had no signal- 


2 5 I 


A Strange Adventure 

ling apparatus to reply. However, we built big fires 
and kept them burning, and then one afternoon, when 
Miss Flora an’ me were out trapping some pigs, for we 
had no ammunition, a gang o’ the cut-throats we had 
been hiding frae so long — at least I expect it was them, 
for no others kent of our existence — rushed oot o’ the 
timber doon there an’ took Captain Grenville an’ Mr. 
Preston away wi’ them. When we came back we found 
signs o’ the struggle an’ that was all. We saw a boat 
wi’ no lights lying inside the reef, an’ thinking they 
might come back, I put oot the dying fires an’ we kept 
in our den. Next day a crowd of them came up looking 
for us, an’ we lay up there an’ watched them. It wanna 
altogether because we were frightened that we kept out 
o’ the way, however; for the day before Miss Flora 
discovered that the pirates had erected a gun on the 
other side, and we had determined to sink them wi’ their 
ain gun the first chance we had. We saw them coming 
in last night, and Flora went along to-day — she’s fleeter 
in the feet than me — to see where they were, but I 
havena heard her story yet.” 

“Tea is ready now. Please come at once,” cried a 
joyous voice from the rocks above, and Flora appeared 
where Tom had first seen Murray, dressed in what 
seemed to Tom most wonderful garments. 

“ Come along,” said Murray. “ This is our front 
door; it’s only open when the ladder is doon; but our 
back door in the gully over there is always open, al- 
though we have hidden it as well as we could.” 

Following his Scotch companion, Tom climbed up 
the rope ladder to the fissure in the rocks, and found 
himself looking into a large cave extending far back 
into the mountain. 


252 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ We didna always bide here,” Murray said. “ At 
first we lived doon on the beach, but when the peak 
burst out, as it does every three months, we were driven 
away wi’ the lava stream, an’ came up here to be inside 
the circle o’ falling ashes.” 

“ It is not often we have visitors, Tom — Mr. Gren- 
ville,” said Flora, as Murray finished, “ and I am afraid 
we are not accustomed to entertaining. Still on south- 
sea islands one can’t expect too much. Will you have a 
cup of tea, or a cup of my own preparation ? ” 

“ Your own preparation, by all means,” answered 
Tom gallantly. “ What is it? ” 

“ You should have asked that first, my lord, it is 
what Mr. Murray calls a saturated solution of — of — 
Do pronounce it for me, Mr. Murray.” 

“ Of Piper ■ methysticum,” said Murray, “ and it is 
about as strange a drink as I know. Kava, some folk 
call it.” 

Tom tried it, however, and afterwards agreed with 
his Scotch friend, for he could hardly stand on his feet, 
and his head felt the size of a balloon. 

“ We have plenty of stores,” continued Flora after a 
time, “ for the people who left us here also left a whole 
shipload of things, and told my father that whenever 
we jwanted more if we made a signal with fires they 
would see it and attend to it. We never did so though, 
for we thought we might escape some day if they didn’t 
know where we were. Mr. Murray has already built a 
boat ; it is hidden down near the beach.” 

“Ay, and we were just thinking about settin’ oot for 
some o’ the Prince Bismarck islands when the Captain 
and Mr. Preston were taken away,” added Murray. 

“ We’ll pay them back for that soon,” said Tom. 


A Strange Adventure 253 

“ If you have anything you wish to take with you, pack 
it up. We must get on board before dark so as to get 
everything ready. By Jupiter ! won’t they be surprised 
when they see us? We’ll make the Adventurers sorry 
for their conduct before long.” 

“ They were a half-gentlemanly lot too,” mused Mur- 
ray. “ They didna maroon us for good, they said, but 
just until they had finished wi’ that pearl island.” 

“Do you know it?” asked Tom. 

“ Oh yes, but I wasna going to tell them. The 
Captain, Mr. Preston and I intended to fit out an ex- 
pedition to work its pearl beds as soon as Mr. Preston 
could get a concession from the German Government. 
It was a strange sort of coral atoll. It didna rise more 
than three feet above the surface anywhere, but on the 
ledges round it we could see the shells quite plainly 
through the water. It was just after leaving the island 
that my second and the chief officer came out in their 
true colours. They were evidently members of some 
secret society o’ wreckers. To cut it short, they got 
command o’ the ship an’ put us ashore on this island. 
It seems they first intended only to steal the ship, but 
afterwards their headquarters decided to work the pearl 
deposits o’ the island. That is all I ken, but I don’t 
think they found the place, for I know they offered to 
land us at any port in New Zealand or Australia, regu- 
larly, for a long time after that, if the Captain would 
tell them its position. But he never did so, and in time 
we^ began to be quite happy on our island. This lasted 
until about a month ago, when a new gang o’ the beg- 
gars began to come about, and finished up wi’ what ye 
ken, and now we are all that is left. But tell me, how 
did you ken to come here to look for us ? ” 


254 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ I received a message which my father cast into the 
sea in a bottle. Some one picked it up near Napier in 
New Zealand and sent it on. He said nothing about 
being marooned, though.” 

“ It is maist remarkable how Providence works. I 
suppose he didna ken at the time what was going to 
happen. We’ve thrown many messages into the sea 
since then telling our position, but they never got 
outside the lagoon.” 

While speaking, Murray had been making prepara- 
tions for departure, and now Flora came up with a 
bundle of her most precious belongings. 

“ You never said what you think of my dress,” she 
said to Tom. 

“ I think it is a dream of beauty,” he responded, 
“but isn’t it a bit — er — well, short?” Tom hesitated; 
he did not know much about feminine garments, and 
feared he had already committed some grave blunder. 
But if so, Flora did not seem to notice. 

“Why, no,” she replied, laughing. “If it were any 
longer I should be treading on it.” She departed, 
still amused at Tom’s idea of dresses, and Murray 
remarked : 

“ Poor wee lassie, that was her best dress when she 
left England about six years ago, and it never seems 
to strike her that she has grown into a woman since 
then.” 

They were now ready to depart, and after many last 
looks round and farewells they finally left by the way 
which opened into the gully. Flora led the way, and 
they hurried on, hoping to get down to the Cinderella 
before sundown. 

“ We’d better, I’m thinking,” said Murray, “ for it 


A Strange Adventure 255 

strikes me the rain will come on to-night and every- 
thing no’ under cover o’ some kind will be drooned.” 

“ I wonder what Richard will say when he sees me,” 
cried Flora gaily. “ Is he tall and handsome like — 

like ” she blushed and did not complete her 

sentence. 

“ Yes, he is tall, and handsome, and very clever,” 
answered Tom, also blushing for some reason or other. 
“ But we are nearly down now. The Cinderella lies at 
the bottom of this ravine.” 

“ I think I smell an oyster factory,” said Murray, 
sniffing the air, “ but I couldna see ony masts or signs 
o’ a ship frae that clear place we passed before turnin’ 
doon here.” 

“ It is very difficult to see any distance in this part 
of the world either on shore or at sea; the vegetation 
is too dense in the first case, and the haze hides every- 
thing in the second.” 

“ Vera true. I believe I can smell the engine-room 
noo,” remarked Murray. “ The smell o’ an oil rag will 
be better than eau-de-Cologne to me.” 

“ Then we are just down,” said Tom enthusiastically. 
“ The Cinderella lies there.” 

“ Where did ye say ? I canna see onything but pearl- 
shell tables.” 

“ Why, look at ” said Tom as he passed into 

the open, but the words froze on his lips, and he stared 
at a vacant mooring place. The Cinderella was not 
there. 


CHAPTER XII 


Bearding the Lions in their Den 

Tom stood as one in a dream. What new trick was 
this Fate was playing on him? 

“ Can’t you see her ? ” he cried. “ My senses must 
be going wrong. I left her moored there this morning, 
but I see nothing of her now.” 

“ Because she’s no’ there, my lad,” said Murray 
kindly. “ They have cleared out for some reason we’ll 
likely know soon. I hardly thought the pirates would 
be so easily managed. I expect they have some hand 
in this.” 

“ I say, boss, is that you ? ” cried a voice from the 
forest which Tom at once recognized. 

“ Yes, Kotay. Where is the Cinderella ? What has 
happened ? ” 

“ Lot of fellows from boat outside rush our boat 
when most people have afternoon sleep. I was on 
shore catching ducks when it happened. I climbed 
tree and waited for you. Big ship outside now.” 

“Is there?” said Tom, with a strange note in his 
voice. “ Then I will know all about this affair before 
the night is over.” 

“ Good job we built house here last week,” remarked 
Kotay, coming forward ; “ else how we do with lady ? 
Rain come to-night.” 

Tom turned to Murray. “ I am more than sorry,” 
256 


Bearding the Lions 257 

he said, “ that this is what I have brought you to. 
You have heard what has happened. Now, this is no 
time for sentiment or regret. If you will kindly take 
Miss Preston back to your old home again, I will see 
what I can do with that other ship to-night.” 

“ Miss Preston is not going back, thank you,” said 
that lady calmly. “ She is going to help in whatever 
is to be done here.” 

“ Nonsense,” cried Tom angrily. “ Girls are only 
in the way. You must go back. I am going out to 
the ship which Kotay says is lying outside the reef.” 

“ And I am going with you,” said Murray quietly. 

“ You bet I am not goin’ to stay behind,” added 
Kotay. “ Blamed wet to-night on shore.” 

“ And I’m going too,” said Miss Preston. “ I can 
pull a boat as well as any man.” 

“But that is just the trouble,” said Tom; “we 
have no boat to pull. I am going to swim.” He 
spoke quite roughly, for the plan he had in his mind 
was not one in which girls found any place; it was 
daring in the extreme. Miss Preston did not answer. 

“ I think other fellows come ashore in boat they 
leave behind down on beach,” put in Kotay. “ I will 
go an’ get it, an’ come back for you.” 

“ No, Kotay, lead us to it rather. We have just 
time to follow this inlet to the beach before sundown.” 

The little man started off at once without comment 
of any kind, and the rest of the party followed. The 
route chosen by Kotay was along the banks of the 
inlet, and proved to be of a much more passable nature 
than Tom had expected. When passing the opening 
tables, Tom pointed out to Murray the ends of the 
wires Thomson had laid for firing the gun electrically. 
(b 761) R 


258 


The Pearl Seekers 


He also showed Miss Preston quite a number of pearls 
which had been “ cast ” during the day, lying in the 
ledge, and told her she could take as many as she 
wished. But this was no time for courtesies; Tom’s 
gallantry of the day had given place to sterner feelings, 
and in Miss Preston he only saw a helpless girl who 
would hamper his actions very much. He did his best 
to be polite, however, and eventually they reached the 
beach, and saw a large steamer lying just outside the 
gap. 

Then night came on, and strange flashes of fire shot 
across the heavens at short intervals. Quietly they 
took possession of the boat. It was a large one and 
not easily handled, but at length they succeeded in 
floating it. Then Tom said: 

“ Miss Preston, Mr. Murray, and Kotay, without 
making a speech or going over what might have been, 
or in any way wasting time with vain regrets, I will 
tell you my plan of action, and if any of you can 
suggest improvements, then by all means do so. I 
propose that I get out to that ship. Kotay will go 
with me to the reef, and from there I will swim. Now, 

I conclude that they must have sent most of their 
people to capture the Cinderella , for they did not know 
how many men we had and would not take risks, 
therefore there cannot be a great number on board 
now. I will climb on deck somehow, and hide until I 
kndw the exact state of affairs. Then I will find out 
where my father and Mr. Preston are — they must be 
on board somewhere — and liberate them. We can 
then all drop overboard when no one is about, swim to 
the reef where Kotay will be waiting, and reach the 


Bearding the Lions 259 

shore before, perhaps, any of the people on board know 
that anything has happened. 

“ And then they will send a murdering party on 
shore after us,” said Murray, “ and ” 

“ But before they can do so we can be up on the 
hill beside our gun, and will blow them out of the water 
at the first signs of movement.” 

“ Kotay like that,” remarked the Japanese; “ only he 
no’ like waitin’ on reef until you come back; boat wait 
there itself an’ I come too.” 

“ Your plan is good, my boy, and worthy of you,” 
said Murray after a space of silence, “ but ye seem to 
have forgotten that I am in the land o’ the living, for 
your scheme gives me no part to play.” 

“ Why, you will look after Miss Preston, of course.” 

“ Miss Preston will look after herself,” spoke that 
lady coldly. 

“ Well, here’s the first o’ the rain coming, so come 
back under the trees and I’ll mak’ ane or twa amend- 
ments.” 

A loud crash of thunder reverberated among the 
gullies, and a vivid flash of lightning illumined the sea. 
Next moment the long-delayed rain burst in a terrific 
downpour over all. 

The party moved into the friendly shelter of the 
dense vegetation and waited until the noise of the rain 
among the tree-tops should abate, so that they could 
hear themselves talking. Kotay meanwhile, after having 
vainly tried to make himself understood, had disappeared, 
and the trio peered into the darkness and waited. 
Suddenly the rain stopped, and an intense silence fell 
over the land. It was the calm before another outburst ; 


260 


The Pearl Seekers 


but taking advantage of it Murray began : “ You were 
right when you said there can’t be many people on 
board, my laddie, and, from what I know of their 
kind, all the crew will be helplessly intoxicated just 
now. I propose, therefore, that we stick to your plan so 
far as getting on board and liberating Captain Grenville 
and Mr. Preston is concerned; but I would add that I 
am going too, and when we get that done we’ll consider 
whether or not we’ll hold the ship against all odds.” 

“ Capital ! ” cried Miss Preston. “ Then I can come 
too.” 

“ Oh no, no ! ” exclaimed Tom ; “ that would never 
do. This is no game that girls can play. I would 
like Mr. Murray with me, but you will have to stay 
with Kotay.” 

“ Indeed, I will not, sir. I am as much interested 
in those on that ship as you, and if you won’t allow 
me to help in your plan I will set about doing something 
independently.” 

“Can girls not listen to reason?” said Tom 
petulantly. “ You cannot possibly help us, and will 
only hamper us because we shall have to attend to 
you.” 

“ Oh no, you will not. I can do all that you first 
proposed that the little Japanese should do. I can 
wait on the reef with the boat ready to take you all 
away again, and do anything I am told just the same 
as if I were a man.” 

“ The lassie is no far wrong,” said Murray. “ She 
can be trusted not to cause us ony trouble, an’ could 
at least wait by the boat if Kotay is any use to us in 
the other work.” 

“ Kotay has proved himself very useful before,” said 


Bearding the Lions 261 

Tom ; “ but this adventure is one in which I have no 
right to ask his assistance/’ 

“ Then gie me some o’ your cartridges an’ we’ll go 
without him. I wish we had some ropes, though,” 
There was a pattering of feet on the beach, and Kotay 
broke into the sheltered spot where they were standing, 
loaded with a heterogeneous assortment of guns, knives, 
ropes, and tinned food-stuffs. 

“ I steal this from other fellows’ stores in house 
along the beach,” he said. “ Think you want them, 
my word! We are ready now.” While he spoke he 
was opening the tins with his knife, and soon he had 
passed round slices of what tasted like plum-pudding, 
but it was too dark for any one to see. Then the rain 
came on again, the lightning flashed, and the thunder 
shook the island. But no one minded the war .of the 
elements; the fiercer they raged the more chance the 
party had of success; and after finally arranging their 
course of action, in which both Kotay and Miss Preston 
were given parts, they moved out of their shelter and 
walked down to the boat. Dimly in the distance a 
few lights shone through the port-holes of the vessel 
they were going to attack, but otherwise she was 
shrouded in the darkness of the storm, until a 
lightning flash at intervals would reveal her long low 
form standing out against the great banks of clouds 
beyond the reef, as if she had been projected on a 
screen by a powerful lantern. 

Thanks to Kotay’s journey, the party were enabled 
to arm themselves with a couple of heavy revolvers each, 
and coils of rope and other weapons and gear lay in 
the bottom of the boat for use if required. 

But the waters of the lagoon were beginning to lash 


262 


The Pearl Seekers 


themselves spitefully in sympathy with the wild waste 
of heaving water outside the boiling foam circle, and it 
was all Tom, Murray, and Kotay could do to prevent 
themselves from being hurled back on the beach. Miss 
Preston took the tiller ropes and kept their head 
towards the reef, and for an hour the three men fought, 
amidst the tropical rain-storm, and against a powerful 
shoreward swell that had risen, to reach it. 

Success at length crowned their efforts, and they 
stood in the drenching spray behind a mighty wall of 
boiling surf. The roar of the storm drowned all at- 
tempts at conversation ; but they did not need to talk now, 
they knew their parts. Murray uncoiled a long rope 
and hitched it to the stern of the boat, then fastening 
the free end under his arms, he looked round to see if 
all were ready for the next stage. They were. Miss 
Preston was to remain by the boat in the heart of the 
spray and await results. Murray would fasten his end 
of the rope to the ship to facilitate a return journey, 
and for the rest they trusted to Providence to see them 
through. Headlong the old engineer plunged into the 
towering mountains of foam closely followed by Tom 
and Kotay; the Jap carried a knife in his teeth as 
his only weapon, but Tom and Murray each had his 
revolvers safely stowed away in water-tight holsters 
strapped to their belts. 

Well might the people on board the steamer think 
themselves safe from a land attack that night. 
Securely anchored they lay in open water just beyond 
the deadly place of strife where sea and reef fought for 
mastery. Nothing floating could pass that zone, and 
besides they had already captured the only other craft 
in that part of the Pacific at the time. Yet it was 


Bearding the Lions 263 

surely a strange watch they kept. Where were the 
crew, the officers — in fact, where was any one? The 
rain-swept decks were deserted, all lights were out, and 
only a glimmering ray which issued from a port-hole 
opening on deck in the after-poop showed any signs 
that the vessel was not an abandoned craft. 

In the cabin from which the light issued four men 
sat round a table playing cards. These were Sir 
Robert, who seemed bored, Crosswood, and two 
strangers, evidently the Captain or chief navigating 
officer of the ship, and one of the leading members of 
the Adventurers. 

“ I think, Sir Robert/’ said the last individual, deal- 
ing out the cards again, “ you must admit that smart 
and all as vas our wonderful boys, they vas only what 
you call fools all the time. How else do we catch them 
on — on the hop, you say — so easily ? ” 

Sir Robert smiled, but made no answer. 

“ I am of opinion the strength of the boys was 
greatly exaggerated,” remarked the ship’s officer. 
“ That marvellous yarn cabled us to Cooktown from 
Sydney always seemed to me too much like the work 
of some imaginative reporter to be worth our serious 
attention, and such has proved to be the case.” 

“ Yes,” observed Crosswood ; “ this is our first pas- 
sage at arms with them, and they went down without the 
slightest resistance. The Twentieth Century Adven- 
turers are once more supreme on the face of the wa- 
ters/ 

“ Vot about your flag dat braved von thousand 
years ? ” sneeringly asked the fourth man. 

“ Oh, I fancy it can still make good its boast so far 
as other nations are concerned,” replied Crosswood. 


264 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Britannia still rules the waves, despite the feverish 
warship-building craze in Kaiserland, and you may go 
nap on the fact that when we run foul of the British 
Navy I am one that sends in my resignation as an 
active member of the Adventurers by the first post.” 

“ You vas mean to say dat Chermany does not 
count?” inquired the first speaker with just a trace of 
irritation in his voice. 

“ Er — suppose you come back to the boys,” drawled 
Sir Robert. “ It is common ground. We Adventurers 
have nothing to do with any one nation more than 
another, unless perhaps the one with the biggest tramp 
fleet or the greatest area of unpatrolled sea.” 

“ Then what are we to do with Captain Grenville and 
Preston?” asked the officer. “We can’t carry them 
over the ocean forever, and if they really ever knew, 
they apparently either don’t know now or won’t tell us 
where that island lies.” 

“ Shoot them,” said the German, “ it is safest.” 

“ Not so,” interjected Sir Robert. “ Our Society 
prides itself on being gentlemen adventurers, not 
common murderers. It seems to me that now we 
have got those who do know where the island is, our 
interest in the gentlemen you have just mentioned is 
finished. I would suggest landing them at some New 
Zealand port and giving them our blessing. No one 
would ever believe what they said.” 

“ At any rate, we have got the boys with their knowl- 
edge, their ship, Captain, and crew,” said Crosswood. 
“ And I suppose we can easily make them tell 
everything they know. I would propose that we hide 
our own craft .somewhere convenient and work the 


Bearding the Lions 265 

pearl-shell deposits from their ship. We could make 
them do most of the work for us.” 

“ Could you ? ” The speaker was Sir Robert. 

“ Why not ? ” asked the officer. “ I know Inglis, 
their skipper. He is a broken-down beggar who lost 
his ticket for sand-scraping somewhere. He could be 
bought if necessary for a few pounds. As for the 
boys, we’ll give them a good thrashing to begin with, 
and after that all will be plain sailing.” 

“ I have not had the pleasure of meeting the 
young gentlemen,” Sir Robert remarked ; “ but I am 
prepared to risk my reputation for veracity by asserting 
that we have not yet got the upper hand of them. 
The people who put that floating notice there are not 
fools, but we shall certainly prove ourselves to belong 
to the class which comprises most human beings if 
we underrate their powers. Ah ! I hear the watch on 
deck once more. I am glad, Captain, that you have 
one man on board able to attend to his duty.” 

“ Yes, I think Smith will keep sober,” returned the 
officer. “ You are aware, Sir Robert, that we cannot 
deal harshly with our men. It might be awkward, 
and we promised them a night to themselves with 
unlimited grog allowance when we got the Cinderella 
into our hands.” 

“ Oh, I am not putting forward any objections, 
Captain, I am merely commenting with some surprise 
on the fact that we’ve still got one man able to walk 
the deck on board. I know all our tried men are 
with Herr Buelon, Bankstone, and the others on that 
craft.” 

“ They were lucky in getting her out through the 


266 


The Pearl Seekers 


gap before the storm came on/’ said the German. 
“ Nodink with screw propellers could come out in the 
teeth of that hurricane now.” 

“And they might have found the boys a bit trouble- 
some on shore if they had had to stay with them,” 
laughed Crosswood. 

“ Ah well, gentlemen,” drawled Sir Robert, throwing 
down his cards, “ our play has degenerated to almost 
that of an old maid’s whist-party. Let us banish the 
boys from our memory just now and confine our at- 
tention to the game. Smith will prevent their ghosts 
from coming here.” 

The party filled their glasses, lit their cigars, and 
resumed their play. Evidently it was for high stakes, 
for the pile of gold beside Sir Robert rapidly increased, 
while that of the others correspondingly decreased. 

“ I don’t hear Smith now,” remarked Crosswood after 
a long silence. 

“ No,” laughed the German, pushing over another 
handful of sovereigns to Sir Robert. “He vas just 
gone below for more rum. I think I hear him go. 
Ach, Sir Robert, you haf all the luck to-night.” He 
dealt the cards again, nevertheless, and the play went 
on. 

Meanwhile things were not just as they imagined 
throughout the ship. It certainly had been the man 
Smith the card-players had heard, but the cessation of 
his footsteps was not due to his having gone below. 
That was brought about by Murray. The man had 
paced the length of the deck perhaps twice, and was 
crossing the well-deck space between the fore-poop and 
’midships when a dripping form sprang out of the dark- 
ness and gripped him by the throat. The man uttered 


Bearding the Lions 267 

no sound, Murray’s grip was too sure to allow that, 
and next moment he was gagged and bound by two 
other figures who rose drenched and splashing from the 
sea. 

Throwing the man into a corner the three strangers 
then cautiously crept round the ship, and, at the very 
moment when Sir Robert had requested his companions 
to forget the boys for a time, one of them was peering 
through the open deck-view port-hole at him. 

“ This is the old Southern Cross” whispered Murray 
in Tom’s ear. “ I know where the prisoners will be. 
Come, the crew are all helpless.” 

“But what about those inside?” asked Tom, a 
strange feeling coming over him as he realised that he 
was standing on the ship his father had commanded. 

Murray looked through the port-hole. “ They’ll play 
all night,” he whispered. “ But I dinna like chancing 
anything.” He hesitated. 

“ Then I’ll keep guard here,” said Tom. “ Take 
Kotay and look for my father and Mr. Preston. 
Fire your revolvers twice if we have to run for it, and 
I will jump overboard too, but until I get that signal I 
will stay here.” 

Murray and Kotay glided away, and Tom pressed 
himself into the shadows, against the gunwale, gripped 
its edge to steady himself, for the vessel was rolling 
considerably in the increasing swell and slowly worked 
himself into a position which enabled him to look 
through the open port and yet be almost completely 
hidden himself. He then raised his free hand and 
rested it on the outside flange of the port. In that 
hand was a heavy Colt revolver, and its muzzle pointed 
straight at the heart of Sir Robert. The game went 


268 


The Pearl Seekers 


on inside, but now a terribly-in-earnest watcher, grim and 
silent, saw their every action, heard all their conversa- 
tion. Meanwhile, out on the bare reef, amidst clouds 
of bursting spray, and the thunderous roar of the break- 
ers, a young girl stood alone, waiting. 

Half an hour passed, and Tom changed his hands, 
his right now gripping the gunwale and his left the 
revolver. Another half-hour and he changed again. 
Then he was conscious that some one was stealthily 
approaching. Tom balanced himself on his erratic foot- 
hold, leant against the gunwale for support, and drew 
his other revolver with his free hand. Next minute 
he replaced his second weapon and assumed his old 
position ; the person creeping along the deck had said in 
a suppressed voice, “ Mister Tom, Mister Tom, where 
are you ? ” 

Tom bent low on the deck. “ Here/’ he whispered. 
“ Don’t speak above your breath. What is it ? ” 

The Japanese gained his side. “ We’ve found them. 
Big Scotch fellow tell me tell you all ready, crew all 
shut down, can no’ get up. What me to do now? — 
Sh.” 

A man walked along the deck and made as if to 
open the door of the saloon cabin where the gamblers 
played. But he never did so. Something flew out at 
him from the darkness of night and he knew no more. 
But he did not fall ; Kotay knew too much to allow that. 
By some miraculous feat of strength the little man 
threw his heavy victim over his shoulder and walked 
away forward with him, and again Tom was alone, 
unless something lurked in the darkness beside him. 

The lightning flashed, the thunder rent the atmos- 
phere, and the rain came down in torrents; still Tom 


Bearding the Lions 269 

kept his vigil, and the lonely girl on the reef did the 
same. 

Many times inside the warm saloon had the glasses 
been refilled, but now there seemed to be no further 
demand for refreshment, and three of the occupants 
dropped asleep, leaving Sir Robert with an enormous 
pile of sovereigns by his side. Then that gentleman 
arose and stretched himself. “ Pigs ! ” he muttered, 
glancing contemptuously at his companions round the 
table. “No wonder our Society has degenerated when 
such as these things are in control.” He swept the gold 
carelessly into his pockets and sat down again. “ I 
suppose I am the only being with full senses on board 
to-night. I wish I had some capable men, for this 
storm will drive us on that reef despite all our anchors 
if it gets much worse. Ah, well — ” he pressed the 
button of an electric bell, and Tom once more held his 
two revolvers in readiness — “ these wonderful boys 
and their ship are in our hands after all. I feel quite 
sorry they didn’t put up a bigger fight. I rather liked 
them although I have never seen them, and now that 
we have them of course we’ll get that confounded 
island, and I’ll have to look for adventure in some 
other part of the globe. I think I will reorganise our 
band, get rid of all these swine, and start over again 
as gentlemen adventurers. Jove! I wonder if I could 
persuade some of the boys to join us; they have brains 
at least. A pity they fell into Herr Buelon’s hands so 
easily. However, he is a gentleman and won’t allow 
them to be ill-treated. They were smart, too, for 
youngsters ; Bankstone and Charlie could never sleep 
even at sea unless a double watch was set, for fear they 
would find the young electricians standing over them 


270 


The Pearl Seekers 


when they awoke. But this place is getting very stuffy, 
and as no one seems able to answer that bell, I’ll take 
a stretch on deck.” He rose and walked towards the 
door, but a flash of something bright in the port-hole 
attracted his eyes, and he stood and stared in bewilder- 
ment. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was 
still there, a motionless revolver and a steady hand be- 
hind with a finger on the trigger. Sir Robert recoiled 
a step and blinked at the apparition. He could see 
nothing beyond the hand; outside was the dense black- 
ness of night. The vessel rolled and tossed in the 
storm, but the revolver remained stationary in the port- 
hole, and its muzzle covered his heart. 

“ Dear me ! ” he laughed, “ I thought I was sober ; 
but I am as bad as my friends here. I’ll have those 
boys on my nerves soon. Of course it is only a trick 
of my fancy; I must really be more careful in what I 
drink. How it points, though. I am half-hypnotised 
by its glittering barrel. Tuts! this will never do. I 
am going out.” He again walked determinedly towards 
the door; but again he stopped, and a strange fear of 
something supernatural assailed him. The revolver and 
hand had been pushed farther through, and he distinctly 
heard the click that accompanied its being raised to 
full cock preparatory to firing. 

He pulled himself together. “ Nonsense ! ” he ex- 
claimed. “ There must be a man behind that revolver; 
it couldn’t click if it was only imaginary. But, by 
George! there is only the flicker of an eyelid or a 
breath of air between me and Kingdom Come just 
now.” 

“ Quite correct, Sir Robert,” said a voice from the 
darkness. “ And now that you are aware of that fact, 


Bearding the Lions 271 

perhaps you will resume your seat. My hand is shak- 
ing, and this is a hair trigger.” 

Sir Robert’s face brightened, and he threw himself 
upon a couch with a laugh. “ By George ! but you 
did give me a bit of a funny feeling,” he said. “ I 
thought my senses had gone wrong.” 

He got no answer. Tom was not in a mood for 
conversation at the time; he was listening for sounds 
that would indicate the success or failure of their daring 
enterprise. Sir Robert moved suddenly, however, and 
the weapon came into line with his heart again at 
once. 

“ The next time you move, Sir Robert,” Tom said, 
“ I intend to fire. And you may take your hand off 
that bell-push. Your men are all battened down, and 
will only be shot if they make any attempt to come on 
deck.” 

“ Ah, thanks,” responded the prisoner ; “ I did not 
fully grasp the situation. Just allow me to reach for 
and light a cigar, will you? Thank you. I shan’t 
move again unless I fall asleep; but won’t you come 
in? It must be cold out there just now. You need 
not mind my friends here; they are past taking any 
interest in our little comedy.” 

“ You mean tragedy, I presume, Sir Robert. It 
looks more like that from my point of view.” 

“Ah, but you are prejudiced, my young unseen 
friend. Now, if you would kindly remove your finger 
from that trigger I would bundle my present companions 
into this other cabin, and you could come in, and we 
could discuss the matter.” 

“ Not in the meantime, thank you,” replied Tom, 
much taken by the wonderful coolness of the man whose 


272 


The Pearl Seekers 


life hung on a thread so slight that the faintest tremble 
of Tom’s hand would break it. 

“ But you are taking an unfair advantage over me,” 
continued Sir Robert. “ You know me, yet I have not 
the remotest idea who you are. Won’t you introduce 
yourself? I know you are young, from the sound of 
your voice, but there my knowledge ends.” 

“ And there is no reason why it should extend farther. 
You and your ship are in our hands, and will remain 
so until we have come to an understanding on certain 
matters.” 

“ Quite so. May I ask what these matters are? You 
see, it is rather difficult for me to keep from moving 
in here ; the ship is rolling considerably.” 

“ I am sorry I cannot help that. I should advise 
you to hold on tight.” 

“ Mister Tom. It is me — Kotay — don’t shoot,” cried 
a voice from behind Tom. 

“ All right, Kotay. Is everything ready now ? 
Where are the others ? ” 

“ Here, laddie,” cried Murray’s voice, and the Scot 
issued from the darkness. “ We’ve done the trick com- 
pletely, and here is your father and Mr. Preston.” 

Two gentlemen appeared at Murray’s side; but Tom 
cried out hastily, “ Don’t speak just now, father. I am 
watching the chief of the gang, and I daren’t take my 
eyes off.” 

“ I’ll relieve you now, my boy,” said Murray. 

“ I must really beg your pardon,” interposed Sir 
Robert. “ I can’t help hearing your conversation, 
and •” 

“ Don’t trouble yourself about that,” replied Tom. 
“ I heard all yours to-night.” 


Bearding the Lions 273 

“ I was going to observe,” resumed Sir Robert, “ that 
if, as appears to me, a meeting of long-lost friends is 
about to take place, I shall feel greatly honoured if you 
will make free use of my private saloon for the purpose. 
You will find the entrance to it on the starboard side 
of this poop.” 

“ We are much obliged,” said Murray, peering 
through the port-hole at the man inside, “ and we’ll 
just tak’ ye at your word.” 

Sir Robert started. “ You are not the person with 
whom I have been conversing this last little while ? ” 
he said in surprise. “ How many are there of you ? 
Who are you, and how did you get on board? Have 
yon any connection with the Boys ? ” 

Murray withdrew his head and substituted his 
revolver, and while Tom rushed to his father he re- 
marked, “ You are in too big a hurry, ma friend, but 
I’ll enlighten you a wee bit. Some o’ us were on 
board, and the others swam oot frae that reef, where 
I’ve just remembered we’ve another detachment waiting. 
I dinna ken what you mean by your last question, but 
I may tell you that it is a boy o’ eighteen who engineered 
this game, an’ it’s to him you’ll hae to reckon wi’ for 
your sins presently.” Murray took a keen delight in 
talking to his prisoner. He did not know him, of 
course, as Sir Robert had only recently been attached 
to the Pacific section. 

While they conversed, Tom and Captain Grenville 
were experiencing their first moments of that exquisite 
joy which comes to dear friends on suddenly meeting 
after a lapse of long weary years, during which each 
had given up hope of ever seeing the other again. 
In this case there surely was reason for thankfulness; 

(b 761) S 


274 


The Pearl Seekers 


and while Tom could hardly realise that he had actually 
found his father, Captain Grenville could just as little 
bring himself to think that the tall handsome youth 
whose hands were locked in his was his son — the boy 
of twelve, with no particular promise of anything, 
whom he had last seen in Worchester. After a few 
moments the Captain turned to the gentleman by his 
side and said, “ Mr. Preston, this is my son Tom. 
How he got here I don’t know; but you heard what 
Murray said.” 

Mr. Preston shook Tom’s hand warmly. “ I’ve 
heard a wonderful story about you, my boy,” he said. 
“ Murray has been singing your praises since he let 
us out of our prison. Are you by any chance one of 
the band of youths who have upset the plans of the 
Adventurers so much ? ” 

“ I don’t know, sir,” answered Tom, “ but your son 
Richard and I with some comrades came here to look 
for you ” 

“ Richard ! My son — is he here ? ” 

“ Not at the present moment. He was on board 
the Cinderella ; we will get him to-morrow. But we 
have no time to talk now. Have you arms ? ” 

“ Yes, we have provided ourselves with a fair as- 
sortment. What is the plan? Can we defend ourselves 
on shore, or have you a vessel ? ” 

“ Sir, until I find my comrades I mean to hold this 
ship. Will you therefore assist us to place the gentle- 
man inside in safe keeping, and then we are absolutely 
in command. My father can navigate her to our island, 
and we’ll force her crew to work her. When we find 
the Cinderella we shall have our own fellows again. 


Bearding the Lions 275 

Meanwhile I will go and arrange some method of getting 
Miss Preston on board.” 

“Ah, my daughter, where is she?” asked Mr. 
Preston eagerly. 

“ On the reef, sir. She came out with us, and we 
left her there to keep open a way of escape.” 

“ But, Tom,” put in Captain Grenville, “ all this is 
like a scene from a fairy-tale. You seem to have . 
acquired, in some mysterious manner, ships and men, 
and a marvellous amount of knowledge of the South 
Seas. Then you come on board a pirate ship from 
the sea in the middle of a storm as if that were the 
most natural thing in the world. How on earth did 
you do it ? ” 

“ Father, I will explain afterwards. There is not 
much of a crew on board this ship at present; they 
all went ashore to-day to seize our ship, the Cinderella, 
and my comrades. We shall find out from the man I 
have been guarding all night where they have gone 
and follow them, and when we get back our own 
fellows we can fight anything — I hear something. 
Hallo, Kotay, is it you ? Where have you been ? ” 

“ I think we pretty well boss this ship now, so go 
ashore with flying monkey to bring pretty little girl 
back. She on rope now. Some one give me a hand 
to pull.” Kotay began pulling at the end of a rope 
he held in his hand; he had evidently just come out 
of the sea, and Tom at once gathered that he had 
been ashore with a device on a pulley to be hauled 
over the rope Murray had fastened between the reef 
and the steamer, by which he meant to take Miss 
Preston on board. Willing hands lent their aid, and 


27 6 


The Pearl Seekers 


soon Miss Flora was with them, tired and drenched 
with the spray ; but her delight when she saw her 
father and the Captain was unbounded. 

Here Murray turned to the men. “ This gentleman 
inside says that he particularly desires to see the boy 
who is on board. He also adds that he will not make 
any attempt to escape or cause trouble, and says that 
if Mr. Preston or Captain Grenville is here he will 
perhaps say a good word for — oh, he’s shouting for 
me.” Murray turned to the occupant of the room 
again. 

“ My dear Scotch friend,” remarked Sir Robert, “ I 
heard you make a slight misstatement just now, which 
I should like if you would correct. I certainly do wish 
to see the person whom I first had the honour of, well — 
er — meeting to-night, but I do not wish any man to 
say a good word for me. That is quite impossible un- 
less he lies. I merely wish you to repeat that if the 
young gentleman will honour me with an interview it 
will afford me much pleasure, and that having given 
my word that I will cause no trouble of any kind, per- 
haps either Captain Grenville or Mr. Preston will allow 
that I always keep my word.” 

“ Man, I would almost guarantee you mysel’,” 
answered Murray. “ But — no, don’t move or I’ll blow 
you to blazes — IT1 repeat your words.” 

“ Yes, Sir Robert is a man of his word,” said Cap- 
tain Grenville, when Murray delivered his corrected mes- 
sage. “ He is not at all a bad fellow, if he were not 
one of the chiefs of this gang.” 

“ Well, father, you might help me to bundle the 
other men out, and then we can hold a council of 
war,” said Tom, opening the door and entering the 


Bearding the Lions 277 

little saloon. He was followed by his father and Mr. 
Preston. Murray still kept his weapon levelled through 
the port-hole, and Kotay was exploring among the other 
deck cabins to find a suitable place for Miss Preston. 

“Ah, good evening, gentlemen,” Sir Robert said as 
he saw his visitors. “ I must beg you to excuse my not 
rising to receive you ” — he nodded towards the revolver 
in Murray’s hand and smiled. “ I think if you would 
simply cart these people away and put them in the 
apartment which I believe you have just vacated, it 
would save you some trouble.” 

Captain Grenville laughed. “ Yes, I think so,” he 
said. “ There is not much fear of them escaping from 
'that prison, although I must admit that you made it 
as comfortable as possible for us.” 

“ I am glad you found it so, sir. Now, if you 
would care to call matters square between us — apart, of 
course, from any grievance you may have against the 
Adventurers as a whole — you might ask your satellite 
to remove that little cannon from my sight; I shall 
never be able to look at a port-hole again without 
seeing a battery of artillery trained on my poor carcass.” 

“ I am sorry, Sir Robert, but I have not the power 
to order its removal. This young man — my son — is in 
command.” 

“ I am proud to meet you, my young friend,” said 
Sir Robert. “ I presume it was with you I had such an 
interesting conversation to-night concerning the various 
aspects of tragedy and comedy ? ” 

“ It was,” answered Tom. “ Mr. Murray, please re- 
move your revolver now. I had the pleasure of hearing 
you discourse on a previous occasion, however, but I 
don’t think you knew.” 


278 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Indeed ! Ah, many thanks for ordering the re- 
moval of that gun. May I ask where and when that 
was ? ” 

“ Well, we haven’t too much time to waste over 
unimportant matters like that just now,” said Tom. “ I 
have a proposition to make to you.” 

“ But why detract from the pleasure of our interview 
by talking business? Won’t you allow me to entertain 
you? There are a couple of Chinese cooks on board 
whom you could safely let up from below, and ” 

“ I fear we cannot think of that in the meantime. 
My business is one that cannot wait. That is why I 
took the extraordinary measure of calling on you to- 
night.” 

“ I see.” Sir Robert became lost in reflection. 

Murray, Captain Grenville, Mr. Preston and Kotay, 
who had returned, had removed the three helpless men 
from the saloon and locked them in the cabin where 
the Captain and Mr. Preston had previously been con- 
fined. They then went round the ship and saw that 
everything was as secure as they could make it. This 
was a much simpler task than they had expected, for 
there did not appear to be more than a dozen men on 
board altogether, and the ship was so arranged that 
a few people on deck could readily control an unruly 
mob of men by simply locking them below, there being 
no means of gaining access to the deck other than by 
two cargo hatches and the fore and aft companion-ways. 
The two former were already closed, and could not be 
opened from below, while the presence of ponderous 
bolts and bars on the outside of the companion-way 
entrances seemed to indicate that the Adventurers 


Bearding the Lions 279 

frequently found it convenient to keep unruly people 
below. The Adventurers themselves had their cabins 
on deck, but evidently the majority of them had taken 
part in the capture of the Cinderella. 

Kotay was the first to return to Tom. He entered 
the room where his master and Sir Robert were 
conversing as freely as though they were the closest 
of friends, and signed to Tom that he wished to speak. 

“ What is it, Kotay ? ” asked Tom. “ I cannot very 
well leave my friend, Sir Robert, by himself.” 

“ You can if you wish,” said that gentleman, “ but 
it would be very foolish on your part. I could not 
promise to sit here alone and contemplate all the nice 
things you intend to do with me.” 

“ I go hunt now for clothes for lady. She need some- 
thing dry. No good for her to be wet so long.” 

“ No, Kotay, you are quite right,” said Tom. “ We 

must do something for her ” 

“ Pardon me,” interrupted Sir Robert. “ I confess I 
am somewhat amazed to hear that there is a lady on 
board a — well, what you would perhaps term a pirate 
ship. I trust she has not suffered great inconvenience 
in paying us a visit, and hasten to place my cabin and 
wardrobe at her disposal. When on shore in civilised 
ports I sometimes dress to represent a lady — it pays very 
well in my profession, you know — and I think your lady 
friend will find all she requires in my collection. Per- 
haps afterwards I may be allowed to see her ? ” 

“ The lady is Mr. Preston’s daughter, sir,” said Tom 
rather sternly, as Kotay departed grinning. “ A British 
girl will dare and suffer as much for those she cares for 
as any man.” 


28 o 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Mr. Preston’s daughter ! ” cried Sir Robert. “ How 
by all that is inexplicable did she get to this part of 
the world ? ” 

“ She has been here since your gang left her with 
her father, my father and Mr. Murray. I found her 
to-day, or rather yesterday, seeing it is now two in 
the morning, and Mr. Murray and she came with me 
to join her brother on our ship. It had been stolen, 
however, and we determined to take yours in return. 
It seems, however, this ship belongs to Mr. Preston 
too. We shall deal with your crew at daylight and 
go and look for the German cruiser which is some- 
where about ” 

“ I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” interrupted 
Sir Robert, with a slightly changed voice. “ I do not 
wish to say a word in my own behalf, but I had not 
the slightest idea that the Adventurers included the 
marooning of girls as part of their plans ” 

“ You are a bit too late with ” 

“ Hear me out, young man. I was going to add 
that seeing they have committed such an unwarranted 
act, and I am among those responsible for their conduct, 
I must now do all I can to rectify it.” 

“ You can do nothing, Sir Robert.” 

“ Don’t talk nonsense. I have been simply playing 
with you all the time. I can end this comedy any 
moment by merely allowing my foot to press a certain 
spring under this table, which of course you do not see, 
and the floor with its occupants would sink to the next 
deck.” 

“And you would be dead before we reached it,” 
said Tom warmly. “ I have had you covered with a 


Bearding the Lions 281 

revolver in my pocket; even at this moment a touch 
on the hair trigger would ” 

“ Stop all that. You propose looking for the Ger- 
man cruiser, and I say that that is folly on your part, 
because you cannot clear yourselves of suspicion, no 
matter what you do; while you may be certain that our 
virtuous friends at present on the Cinderella will perjure 
their souls to incriminate you too. Now, I propose that 
you sit tight where you are. The Cinderella will be 
back here in time, and before then we can surely come 
to a compromise of some kind. I do not mean that the 
Adventurers and you shall become friendly — that is im- 
possible; but I mean that by facilitating your happy 
reunion with your friends, you may be disposed to regard 
me, personally, as one who would like to make amends 
for certain things. After that, of course, we’ll fight 
the general matter out to the end.” 

“ Then state briefly how you propose to make 
amends,” said Tom. 

“ I have already told you that the Cinderella must 
come back before we can sail away.” 

“ Which is an error on your part. This ship will 
sail at sunrise, unless you give me good reason why 
she shouldn’t.” 

“ I take it you are one of the boys who raised the 
Cinderella ? ” 

“I am.” 

“ Then, if you sail away with this ship, you will 
neglect the first opportunity of .rescuing your comrades.” 

“ How so?” 

“ Oh, I don’t know. I thought that any of you 
boys could do wonders. They will be here ; that should 


282 


The Pearl Seekers 


be enough for you. I am not going to go back on 
those associated with me, however much I may dislike 
their methods of work; but I am ready to promise 
that for the first six hours after the Cinderella comes 
alongside, you will have a free hand to do anything and 
everything you can, without hindrance from any one 
on this ship. You will also have my best wishes for 
your success in whatever you decide to do; but in 
common fairness to my people I must attempt to take 
a hand in the game against you after that time has 
passed.” 

“ But if we prevent you ? ” 

“ If you can, do so by all means. I am merely 
conceding so much because of my strange ideas of fair 
play.” 

“ But you and your ship are in our hands now. We 
can keep you for six years if we like.” 

Sir Robert smiled. “ You are not talking like one 
of the boys when you make statements like that,” he 
said. 

Tom thought for a moment. 

“ We have a pretty powerful gun in the bows,” Sir 
Robert suggested. “If you can fire her ” 

“ Then I take you at your word,” cried Tom. “ You 
guarantee absolute neutrality of yourself and men for 
six hours after the Cinderella comes alongside, and also 
give us the complete command of this ship for that 
time ? ” 

“ That is what I have agreed ; but allow me to 
suggest that you are not likely to terrorise the people 
on the Cinderella even although you threaten all sorts 
of things. Can you train and fire a gun ? ” 

“ Oh, I have no doubt some of us can do that.” 


Bearding the Lions 283 

“ Very well, we understand each other. My boy, I 
hope you can invent some plan which will carry you 
through ; but remember after the six hours are up, I 
reserve the right to take a hand in the game.” 

“ That is all right.” 

“ Then with your permission I will have a sleep 
now ; I am tired. I would suggest your doing the 
same. The Cinderella will in all probability land all 
of your comrades she does not require for us to attend 
to. Good-night.” 

Sir Robert stretched himself on the couch, and Tom 
ran out to consult with the others. 

The dark hours of morning dragged on slowly, and 
the storm abated somewhat, but to those who had 
forcibly taken charge of the vessel there could be no 
sleep. 

At sunrise the Cinderella was sighted bearing down 
upon them. 

“ Oh, that I had another man ! ” cried Tom de- 
spairingly. 

“ Won’t I do ? ” asked Miss Preston, who had arrayed 
herself in garments borrowed from Sir Robert’s ward- 
robe, and looked charming despite the night she must 
have spent. . 

“ By Jupiter! yes,” cried Tom. “You can row 
yourself to the shore, and carry a note from me to your 
brother.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


Thomson’s Transformer Does Good 
Work 

Meanwhile the Cinderella's captors were getting a 
little more than they had bargained for, and were as 
far from achieving the results they had anticipated 
when they decided upon its seizure as ever. It was 
chance which put the opportunity of doing this in their 
way. Their ship the Pacific Queen , the old Southern 
Cross refitted and renamed, had been cruising near the 
New Mecklenbergs islands looking for the mysterious 
pearl island when their fresh-water tanks were found 
to be greatly in need of refilling. As it is a very dif- 
ficult matter procuring good water on most South 
Sea islands, and they knew there was a plentiful supply 
on the island on which their depot was built, they 
straightway turned and sailed for it, and it was their 
smoke that Tom had seen from the hillside. 

When they neared the reef the floating notice 
attracted their attention, and they at once realised that 
the island now contained inhabitants who were certainly 
not afraid. Captain Grenville and Mr. Preston were 
naturally as much surprised as any one, for they knew 
of no one on the isalnd but Miss Preston and Murray. 

A council of war was at once held. “ It has come 
to a strange climax if the Pacific Section of the 
Twentieth Century Adventurers are to be prevented 
284 


Thomson’s Transformer 285 

from landing on what they call their shore headquarters,” 
laughed Herr Buelon. “ That notice is very frank.” 

“ And to the point,” added Sir Robert. “ ‘ Fili- 
busters will be sunk ! ’ ” 

“ It’s those confounded boys ! ” exclaimed Slippery 
Charlie. “ I dreamt about them last night.” 

“ I am of the same opinion,” said Bankstone. “ No 
people but them would hang out a challenge to us 
like that.” 

“ Then they are in our hands at last,” cried Cross- 
wood. “ We can land a strong force and rush them.” 

“ You forget the notice,” said another of the party. 
“ That spells ‘ hands off.’ ” 

“ Bosh. That is bluff. How could they sink us ? 
I call it sheer impertinence on their part.” 

“ We can at least get back our boat,” remarked the 
Captain of the ship. “ The Cinderella is worth some- 
thing.” 

“ Yes, if she is there,” agreed Sir Robert. “ And 
if she is, it follows of course that our young friends are 
very much there too. In which case I recommend that 
we land the strongest party possible in our boats and 
attack them by surprise. We can’t do it any other 
way.” 

Herr Buelon agreed with Sir Robert. He was a 
very cautious although a fearless man, and since he 
had been made chief of the Pacific Section had, with 
Sir Robert, done his best to raise the work of the 
Adventurers to something above the paltry deeds to 
which the Pacific branch had of late degenerated. 
But there was absolutely no sentiment in the man. 
He was a human machine, and, unlike Sir Robert, his 
ideas of right and wrong were governed solely according 


286 The Pearl Seekers 

to his calculations as to ultimate profit and loss to his 
Society. He was, it was generally understood among 
the others, an exile from his native land, and although 
at war with all mankind he never showed a vindictive 
spirit unless when planning some action which would 
particularly hurt Germany. But he always counted the 
cost of everything with a wonderful preciseness, and 
thus often disagreed with the plans of his subordinates 
who were reckless irresponsible scoundrels. He would 
never allow interference with ships on the mail routes 
between Canada or the United States and Australia, nor 
with vessels regularly engaged in the Island trade. “ We 
might make one good haul,” he would say, “ but it 
would be the breaking up of our organisation in these 
parts. The Australian squadron would be around in- 
vestigating at once, and would co-operate with the Ger- 
man and American cruisers at Samoa until we were 
driven from the seas. So long as we only tackle ves- 
sels off the mail routes, or confine our operations to 
the sphere of influence of one country, no one but those 
immediately concerned will be interested, and if we 
use good judgment and take all precautions, that need 
trouble us little.” 

The Cinderella and its owners, therefore, were safe 
game for the Adventurers, even although the boys 
offered no other attraction and were not the straight- 
out enemies of the gang, for well they knew she had 
sailed with very incomplete papers, on a mysterious mis- 
sion, and no one was ever likely to inquire as to her 
fate. It was the pearl island the Adventurers chiefly 
desired, however; it would pay better than anything 
else, for pearl shell was increasing in price daily. 
Hence every man that could be spared from the ship 


Thomson’s Transformer 287 

went ashore with Herr Buelon to endeavour to capture 
the Cinderella , the look-out in the crow’s nest having 
reported that he could make out her masts from his 
perch, hidden among the trees. Thus it happened that 
as the boys lolled about the deck or slept that Sunday 
afternoon a score of men approached from all sides 
and noiselessly rushed the gangway, swarmed up the 
mooring ropes at bow and stern, and flung themselves 
wildly upon every person they saw. 

Poor Ah Sing went down first. He had come on 
deck with a tray laden with cups of tea for the boys 
and the officers. His cry made Captain Inglis swing 
round, and he caught one of a couple of foreigners 
who had charged down upon him a blow on the chin 
which sent him reeling half-way back the deck. He 
took in the whole situation at once, and without the 
slightest hesitation closed with his other opponent, 
whom after a severe struggle he raised to the gun- 
wale and dropped overboard. Then he rushed to the 
assistance of Jack, who was fighting bravely against a 
ferocious-looking German twice his size. But the Cap- 
tain never reached Jack’s side; a huge Irishman caught 
him in his arms and laid him flat on the deck, and de- 
spite his struggles bound him securely, although care- 
ful not to hurt him. 

Richard was caught before he could get out of his 
deck-chair, and Stansbury had only time to close a 
man’s eyes with a well-directed blow when his own 
received the same treatment, and he fell. Powell was 
in the stoke-hole at the time, and hearing the noise on 
deck was about to come up to see what was wrong 
when several men burst upon him. He played on their 
swarthy faces with a steam hose until a powerful Scot 


288 


The Pearl Seekers 


gripped him in arms of steel with the words : “ I dinna 

like the job, laddie, but I’m no’ ma ain master.” 

Thomson perhaps had the best chance of all to 
distinguish himself. He was an extremely powerful 
youth and possessed muscles, trained in the fitting 
shop, like links of a chain. He had been talking to 
Aquinili down on the forward deck when he saw a 
couple of men vault on to the forecastle, having 
climbed up a mooring rope. Ah Sing’s cry rang out 
at the same instant, and instinctively he knew what 
had happened, for in one of the men he recognised 
Slippery Charlie. Without a word he gripped an iron 
bar lying near and waited, and next second Slippery 
Charlie was stretched on the deck, felled with a blow 
he would have reason to remember until a sterner 
retribution should finally overtake him. Aquinili in 
like manner accounted for the other. The Kanakas had 
all been asleep and were easily attended to, as were also 
the two remaining firemen. But the spirit of his fore- 
fathers burned fiercely in Thomson. Already his com- 
rades were helpless on their own steamer; he would 
make some one suffer for that. Dropping down the 
open hatchway he gained the lower deck and ran along 
to the engine-room. Just as he reached it the engines 
started to throb slowly, and he knew that the Cinderella 
was really captured and that his beloved engines were 
in other hands. The boy’s heart was sore; he knew 
he could not fight the ship himself, and he had no desire 
to waste his strength against an ordinary member of the 
crew. He looked into the engine-room and then felt 
much better. The man who had stolen the chart, and 
whom Tom and he knew as Bankstone, was standing by 
the throttle valve; most of the others had gone into 


Thomson’s Transformer 289 

the stoke-hole to assist in getting up steam quickly. 
Thomson gripped his iron stanchion and crept inside. 
Next moment Bankstone was lying senseless across the 
railing with a bruise on his head which, like Slippery 
Charlie, he would carry to his dying day. 

Gliding quietly into a corner Thomson saw his 
comrades carried into the saloon and locked therein, 
and then his eyes fell on Herr Buelon and a smile of 
seraphic joy spread over his face. That gentleman 
held a revolver in each hand, but he never got a chance 
to use them. Thomson’s blood-stained iron club again 
did its work, and as the Chief of the Adventurers fell, 
the half-frenzied yet almost diabolically cool-nerved boy 
again glided away. His knowledge of the ship stood 
him in good stead, and before night came on he had 
marked for life a good number of those who seemed 
to be in authority, and a panic had arisen on board. 
No one had seen this awful dealer of head-splitting 
blows, and each feared that he would be the next victim. 
In some cases the fears were justified, and many more 
might also have felt his vengeance had he not grown 
more desperate and lost his sense of coolly calculating 
his movements. An hour after dark he climbed the 
hatchway to attack the steersman, but the moment he 
stepped on deck a shot from a revolver struck him in 
the leg, and the brave boy was taken. 

Some time afterwards Herr Buelon entered the 
saloon, his head bandaged all over. He must have been 
suffering intensely, but in a tone of voice as of one 
entering a club-room he said: 

“ Good evening, gentlemen. I have come to pay 
my respects as soon as I could.” 

“ You are a cowardly pirate,” said Richard. 

(b 761) 


T 


290 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Perhaps you are right in a general sense, sir,” re- 
turned the German, “ but I must object to the adjective. 
I am not cowardly, or I might have a sound head on 
my shoulders at the present moment.” 

“ Well,” spoke Captain Inglis, “ come to the point. 
What do you want? Remember I’ll hold you answer- 
able for anything that happens to these boys, and you 
will perhaps find it inconvenient to pay the reckon- 
ing.” 

Herr Buelon smiled. “ Gentlemen of a profession 
such as mine,” he said, “ take all risks. I did not come 
here to indulge in small talk, however; I came to say 
that I am sorry you are in this plight, and that you can 
end it yourselves if you choose.” 

“ Indeed,” said Captain Inglis ; “ how? ” 

“ You are in possession of some information which 
the people I represent desire. If you supply me with 
that information and give your word not to talk of any- 
thing that has happened, you will be landed at any port in 
the Pacific you like to name as soon as steam-power 
can take you there.” 

“ I thank you on behalf of my comrades and my- 
self,” said Richard, “ but we will certainly not agree to 
the latter part of your proposal. Captain Inglis and 
this officer, however, should not be dragged into our 
quarrel, and I do not speak for them.” 

“ Bet you all the pearl shell on the island you do,” 
cried the Captain. “ Do you think we would tell the 
skunks where the island is just to get safely to an 
Australian port. No, sir, we won’t.” 

“ I have an alternative proposal to offer,” said Herr 
Buelon. “ If you will not give your word that you will 
not speak of this affair, but will give me the desired 


Thomson’s Transformer 291 

information nevertheless, I will undertake to^land you 
wherever you choose in the Pacific — of course within one 
year from date. By that time we shall have done all 
we wish to do ” 

“ And what do we know that interests you so much ? ” 
inquired Richard. 

“ The position of a certain island.” 

“ And if we don’t give you that?” inquired Inglis. 

“ Then I shall be compelled to deposit you on the 
island we have just left, without your ship of course. 
We shall require her for other purposes.” 

“ Do you mind telling us how far we are from that 
island now ? ” continued Inglis. 

“ Twenty-five miles west almost exactly.” answered 
Herr Buelon. “ Why do you ask ? ” 

Inglis laughed. “ I don’t know,” he said ; “ I sup- 
pose it is that blamed curiosity of mine. But you may 
set a course back as soon as you like; you’re as near 
the pearl island as you’ll ever be from our telling.” 
This statement, considering the fact that it was only 
nine feet from them in a vertical direction at that mo- 
ment, was fairly accurate. 

“ Perhaps you will reconsider your decision before 
to-morrow,” said Herr Buelon evasively ; “ not that I 
wish to threaten you, but — these islands are not pleasant 
places on which to spend one’s lifetime. You will ex- 
cuse me now, I trust; my head is troubling me. To 
which of you young gentlemen am I indebted for the 
blow which dropped me ? ” 

“ I knocked you over,” said Thomson ; “ and I warn 
you that you’ll have reason to remember the next blow 
I give you.” 

“ My dear sir, I will not readily forget this one. I 


292 


The Pearl Seekers 


would also like to request you to let me know before 
you strike, should fate ever allow you an opportunity of 
giving me a second blow. I promise you I will pay 
you heavily to consider the deed done, and will act 
myself strictly as if it had been fully carried out/ 5 
Herr Buelon spoke wearily, and raised his hand to his 
head as if suffering great pain. “ I am very sorry you 
are inconvenienced/ 5 he continued, addressing Thomson. 
“We are not murderers, however bad we may be, and I 
had forbidden the use of firearms during this venture. 
The man who shot you is suffering for his disobedience 
now. I trust you were not much hurt? 55 The man 
spoke like a kindly soft-hearted old gentleman, but there 
was a hard ring in his voice when he spoke of diso- 
bedience that showed he had two sides to his char- 
acter. 

“ It was only a flesh wound, 55 said Jack. “ I dug the 
bullet out with my knife. It takes more than a bullet 
to worry Thomson. 55 

“ Ah yes, you are all young and strong. Well, 

good-night, gentlemen, I — I 55 His face turned 

ghastly white and he staggered to a chair, his sentence 
remaining incompleted. 

“ The man is very ill, 55 cried Jack, who had some 
knowledge of medical science, springing forward to Herr 
Buelon 5 s side ; “ this stuffy atmosphere has upset him. 
Open all the ports and doors and let him have air. 55 

“ No, don’t open the door, 55 muttered the German. 
“ I must not let the men s^e that I am not myself or 
it would be the worse for you. I 5 11 be all fight in a 
minute. 55 

“ No, you won’t, 55 cried Captain Inglis, also coming 
forward while Powell and Richard opened all the ports. 


Thomson’s Transformer 


293 


“ Why, man, your head is split open, the wound is 
gaping almost half an inch wide.” Jack had removed 
the bandages, and the effect of Thomson’s blow was 
now apparent. 

“ It is raining outside,” said Richard. “ The rainy 
season must have started.” 

“ Yes,” answered Inglis, “ that is why it is so stuffy 

inside. But this man is half-dead- ” 

“ I’ll doctor him,” said Jack. “ Luckily our medicine 
chest was put in this saloon last week.” 

“ Thank you, boy,” muttered Herr Buelon. “ Don’t 
trouble too much about me.” 

But Jack was already washing the wound, and then 
with deft fingers he pulled it together with some silver 
wire stitches. “ You should really carry a doctor on 
board when you go raiding,” he said, as he bound up 
the head again ; “ you would probably have become 
seriously ill had your head not received attention.” 

Herr Buelon was now much better. “ I shall 
remember your kindness, gentlemen,” he said, rising. 
“ Believe me, this life is not one of my choosing — but 
never mind, I am not going to preach. I will do all 

I can to help you, boys, I •” 

“ Why not give up this life? ” cried Richard. “ You 

are not a common cut-throat. Come away ” 

“ No use talking, my boy. I have cast in my lot with 
these people, and among them I will stay to the end. 
I have a past, and in the excitement of this sort of life 
I forget it. Good-night.” He opened the door and 
walked out, and they heard the sound of locks being 
turned which showed that there was a guard outside. 
The vessel was now tossing and rolling as she had not 
done since the boys had known her. 


294 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ It’s the beginning of the rainy season,” said the 
Captain. “ It always starts with a storm. I wonder 
what Mr. Grenville is doing just now, and what he will 
think of our being captured so easily ? ” 

“ If Tom has not been caught by some of them,” 
said Thomson, “ we’ll know soon. He’ll take steps of 
some kind, and I shouldn’t wonder if he captures the 
other ship and comes after us.” 

“ He’ll hardly do that,” said Inglis; “ but it has just 
occurred to me that we might by some strategy get back 
our own ship. Thomson has knocked out a good num- 
ber of our opponents, it appears, and their leader will 
not take much interest in matters for the next little 
while.” 

“ What do you propose, then, Captain ? ” asked 
Richard. 

“ That we get out of this saloon somehow and lie 
in wait throughout the ship until we get a chance of 
tackling one of them where he cannot get help. With 
some luck we might man them down until we were 
stronger than them.” 

“ They would simply shoot us,” said Richard. “ You 
must remember that we are dealing with men who would 
not hesitate at committing any crime. They are des- 
perate, for they know the only fate in store for them 
should they fail in any venture they try after having 
gone so far as they have in this case.” 

“I’ll tell you,” cried Jack. “We can blow up the 
forward oil-tanks — we have the switchboard here in the 
saloon with us — and Thomson’s transformer which is 
also here, if connected with the main leads from the 
dynamos and switched on to the feeding wires of the 
floating magnetic regulating valves, would burn the 


Thomson’s Transformer 


295 


entire apparatus at once, and if the high voltage which 
would then spark across the oil — a hydrocarbon, you 
know — did not immediately explode it and thus shut 
off the supply from the boilers, it would generate such 
a volume of hydrogen gas that would either explode 
or lift the deck. In any case we would bring the ship 
to a stop and force them to compromise with us before 
we allowed it to proceed, for the magnetic regulators 
are in every tank, and they would never dream of the 
way we had caused the accident.” 

“ That is all very fine,” said Powell, “ but it is our 
own ship you are proposing to damage, and we can’t 
afford to lose a tank of oil; we are running very short 
already.” 

“ Then suggest something else.” 

“ Well, I was wondering how we could take advan- 
tage of having the switchboard in our control, and when 
you mentioned the transformer the idea struck me that 
we might work off a dodge that would help us.” 

“ Out with it, then,” cried Inglis, and Thomson sat 
up also to hear his comrade’s plan. 

“ The propeller shaft passes underneath this saloon, 
and I see an auger over by that specimen case Thomson 
was making on Saturday.” 

“Well, go ahead,” said Thomson; “there is a piece 
of copper wire in the bottom locker.” 

“ Then you know the plan, David ? ” cried Powell. 
“ How will it work ? ” 

“ I don’t quite see the whole thing yet,” answered 
Thomson. “ Hurry up with the idea.” 

“ We’ll bore a hole in the floor above the shaft and 
drop a wire through so that one of its bared ends will 
rub against the revolving shaft. Then we’ll include 


296 


The Pearl Seekers 


the transformer in the engine-room lamp circuit and 
switch its intensified current or secondary wires on in 
place of the primary or ordinary ones. The enormously 
high voltage will, of course, burst the lamps, and when- 
ever we see by the interruption in the flow that such is 
the case, we’ll disconnect again and fasten one of its 
wires to the one touching the shaft. Incidentally one 
may also short-circuit the twin wires of the lamp and 
make them act as one ” 

“ What are you driving at ? ” asked Stansbury. “ I 
don’t know much about electricity, but ” 

“ I see it,” cried Jack excitedly. “ The shaft will 
now be the positive wire, and the wires leading to the 
lamps the negative. The shaft connects with the en- 
gines and all the metal work of the engine-room ” 

“ But allowing all that,” said Richard ; “ can the 
intensified current jump across the engine to the 
lamps ? ” 

“ No,” answered Powell ; “ but when the lamps 
burst the engineer in charge will at once replace them, 
and that very act will then include them in the in- 
tensified circuit, for whenever they push a lamp into 
its socket they will have become lightning conductors 
themselves, and I don’t think they’ll like it.” 

“ Good,” ejaculated Thomson, reaching for the brace 
and bits. “ Let’s begin.” 

“ But if there should be anyone in the engine-room 
with his senses about him he will stop the dynamos 
and thus set free the others who may be caught,” 
suggested Richard. 

“ That we must chance,” said Powell. “ At any 
rate, some one will eventually come here to investigate, 
and we can be ready to rush out when they open the 


Thomson’s Transformer 


297 


door. Once we obtain command of the engine-room 
and get the number of our captors reduced, we can 
invent some other plan to complete the business.” 

Thomson had a hole bored in the floor before he 
had finished talking, and immediately afterwards a cable 
of copper wire was rubbing against the revolving shaft. 
The crudely but ingeniously constructed transformer 
was then hurriedly connected — Thomson had been im- 
proving it on Saturday evening, hence its presence in 
the saloon — and all looked on breathlessly as Powell 
deftly manipulated the wires leading to the engine-room 
lamps. Of course there was also a switch by which the 
lights could be cut off at the control of the engineer in his 
own domain, but Powell did not intend that they should 
have a chance to use it. 

The system of wires was connected, and then Powell 
proposed to start the transformer. “ Pull out these or- 
dinary wires when you hear the thing buzzing,” he 
said to Jack, and his comrade ranged himself alongside 
the switchboard with business-like intent. Next instant 
there was a low vibrating sound not unlike that emit- 
ted by a swarm of bees. Jack pulled out the old wires, 
a series of vivid sparks and a flash of lightning played 
over the contacts on the switchboard, there was a smell 
as of something burning, then several loud reports in 
the direction of the engine-room. The intensified cur- 
rent had flashed klong the wires and already had done 
the first part of irs work. 

“ They’re all /burst,” cried Jack in great delight. “ I 
hear the men sv taring.” 

Powell stopped the transformer, and Thomson dis- 
vires. In almost no time the wire 
ift was joined on, and the lamp wires 


connected the 
touching the shkl 


298 


The Pearl Seekers 


connected both together to the other circuit. Then 
Powell restarted the transformer, and Captain Inglis, 
Stansbury, and Richard looked on in mute wonder and 
admiration. 

“ Listen now, boys,” said Powell. “ We’ll hear what 
has happened directly.” 

He was not mistaken. “ Here, Frenchy,” they 
heard some one say with an oath, “ lend a hand. The 
blamed lamps have gone out all at once, an’ it’s as 
dark as the infernal regions here.” 

“ Ze lamps hav’ burst. Ze dynamos will hav’ be 
racing,” answered another voice. “ They must be ze 
same old lamps as vas in ze ship ven we sunk her in 
Sydney. I vill come and help. New lamps I saw in 
that press behind ze dynamo.” 

A mumbling conversation followed which the pris- . 
oners could not overhear, then suddenly a series of 
yells burst out, which could be heard from end to end 
of the ship. 

“ We’ve got them,” cried Powell in delight. “ Just 
listen to them.” 

“ Young man,” said Inglis reprovingly, but with a 
twinkle in his eyes which spoiled the effect. “ You 
should not listen to them; the language they are using 
is not fit for boys to hear.” 

A great commotion now arose throughout the ves- 
sel, and men could be heard running about the deck 
overhead and shouting in strange languages. 

“ By Jupiter ! boys,” laughed Captain Inglis. “ This 
ship is manned by the scum of all nations. I hear Ger- 
man, French, Italian, and half a dozen other tongues 
I don’t know, among that mob upstairs.” 

“ Some one is coming here,” interjected Stansbury. 

“ Get ready.” 


Thomson’s Transformer 299 

Next moment the locks were turned and three men 
rushed into the saloon. 

“ What have you done, you confounded wizards,” 
cried one. “ You’ll get your throats cut for this.” 

“ Oh, shut up,” interrupted Inglis, tripping the 
speaker. “ You’re only fit to make a noise.” 

Richard and Stansbury tackled the other two, and 
Thomson and Jack throwing themselves on the men 
from behind quickly decided the matter. 

“ Come now, boys,” cried the Captain. “ There can’t 
be many more available men on the craft.” 

Locking their victims in the saloon the party ran 
along the lower deck and through the bulkhead door 
into the engine-room. Thomson seemed to have for- 
gotten that he was wounded. 

“ Be careful,” he cried, striking a light. “ We’ll get 
electrocuted if we touch any of the lamps.” 

Two men cowered in a corner ; they were shaking 
with fear, but when they knew they were seen began 
to use very bad language. They were almost paralysed, 
and offered no resistance when coils of wire were thrown 
round them. “ If you move,” said Stansbury, “ you’ll be 
burnt to a cinder, and I hope you won’t believe me, for 
I would like you to commit suicide.” 

“We will not move — we will not move,” shrieked 
the French engineer. 

“ No, you can bet your boots on that,” growled the 
other. “ We’re not taking on any Ajax business.” 

“ No,” laughed Stansbury. ' “ You are poor but hon- 
est pirates only, and defying lightning is not in your 
line.” 

Jack and Richard closed down the iron door leading 
to the stoke-hole; the Captain and Powell searched for 
more victims; Thomsom promptly stopped the engines, 


300 


The Pearl Seekers 

and the Cinderella rolled on the great Pacific swell. 
The boys wished to go on deck and attack every one 
there at once, but the Captain advised against the idea. 
“ There must still be about a dozen men somewhere,” he 
reasoned, “ and we would only lay ourselves open to 
an attack we could not resist. Let us wait here in the 
darkness where they will be afraid to come until day- 
light. We have the run of the ship down here, and 
after turning out whoever — if any one — is in our 
cabins, we can arm ourselves and force them to make 
terms.” 

But just then the deck entrance to the engine-room 
was closed with a clang, and the party realised that 
those on deck were afraid of them and had taken 
measures to keep them below. 

“ Ha, ha,” laughed Stansbury. “ By Jove, we’ll 
terrorise them out of their skins — oh, I say, could you 
throw that lightning of yours into a telephone ? ” He 
had lit a candle and was now pausing in front of a 
telephone attachment Thomson had erected between 
the engine-room and the bridge. 

“ Yes, I think so,” said Powell. “ Why ? ” 

“ Because here is the telephone ; suppose we rang 
up whoever is on the bridge, and when we got him, 
turned on the lightning same as you did before. We 
could then let him have some facts.” 

“ Capital ! ” exclaimed Thomson. “ Of course we 
can.” He hitched a wire to the rail round the engines 
and fastened the other end round an iron beam overhead. 

“ That beam has metallic connection with another bar 
of channel-iron forward, upon which the bridge deck is 
chiefly supported and into which the rails around it 
are fixed.” 


Thomson’s Transformer 


301 


No one asked him to explain ; all knew that Thomson 
never made a mistake in matters pertaining to electricity 
or engineering. Meanwhile Powell had gingerly hitched 
a flexible wire round one of the lamp sockets and stood 
beside Thomson with the other end grasped in a piece of 
rubber. 

“ Best let me do the talking,” said Stansbury. “ I 
am the only man who has an imagination, or, in other 
words, 1 am the only liar in the party, and one is needed 
this time.” 

“ All right,” agreed Thomson ; you may do any talk- 
ing you like. Til talk through the transformer when 
you get any one at the other end.” 

The dynamo was still working; it was driven by an 
independent engine, and already Jack had mounted a 
light direct from its terminals. 

“ I only hope,” he said to Richard, “ that those fel- 
lows we locked in the saloon won’t know enough to 
switch off the transformer. It is all intensified current 
we are working with now.” 

“ If they do,” answered Richard, “ I suppose some of 
you will invent something to take its place.” He had 
unbounded faith in the abilities of his parners, and was 
fast assuming the characteristic coolness of Tom, al- 
though he could not calculate cause and effect in any 
way like the absent partner. 

Stansbury rang up the bridge on the telephone, and 
after a minute or two was answered by one who from 
his voice appeared to be a Dutchman. 

“ I want the commander of the ship,” spoke Stans- 
bury, and Powell stood ready with his deadly wire. He 
had sparked it across the overhead beam to see that the 
current was still there, and now only awaited the signal 


302 


The Pearl Seekers 


from the speaker to attach it to the telephone. That in 
itself would be harmless, however, but well he knew 
that to preserve his equilibrium while talking the person 
on the bridge would have to grasp the live rail around 
it and then the circuit would complete itself through 
his ear. 

“ Dat vas me,” answered the man at the other end 
of the telephone. “ Just say who you are.” 

“ We’re the underground commanders,” said Stans- 
bury, “ and we wish to draw your attention to the fact 
that within five minutes you and your gang will be in 
a warmer place than the South Seas. Do you savvy? 
We are just about to fire the magazine ” 

“Yah! Dat was no goot to tell me. You haf no 
magazine.” 

“ All right, Dutchy. How do you like this ? ” He 
signed to Powell as the ship lurched heavily, and Powell 
did his duty. The confused jangle of sounds that came 
through the telephone, and the roars and shrieks which 
could be heard from the deck above the storm, told that 
again the boys had scored. 

“ Leave him alone now,” said Thomson. “ He can’t 
let go. He is gripping the rail with one hand and com- 
pletes the circuit through his ear.” 

It was plainly evident that the deck was now a scene 
of great commotion. The party below could hear the 
heavy footsteps of men running along the deck, and the 
howls, curses and entreaties of their victim to pull him 
off. But the men were all afraid to go near him. Al- 
ready they were regretting that they had ever run 
against the boys, and their nerves were overstrung. It 
was three in the morning now, but it seemed as if day- 
light would never come. Verily the crew had got all 


Thomson’s Transformer 


303 


they wanted of the prisoners, and most of the Ad- 
venturers themselves were tossing feverishly wherever 
they could find a place to lie down, Thomson’s blow be- 
ing the cause in most cases. 

“ I say, gentlemen,” suddenly spoke the captured 
engineer, “ I can’t keep from moving any longer. I am 
cramped ; I must sit down.” 

“ Very well, you may do that,” said Stansbury. 

“ And as I never signed on to fight miracle workers,” 
continued the engineer, “ blow me if I don’t chuck the 
game and plunk in with you.” 

“ And me too,” cried the other. 

“ Thanks, but that would be robbing the hangman. 
We can fight the ship without you.” 

At this point the door above opened and a voice 
called down : “ I would like to make an arrangement with 
you gentlemen.” 

“ Fire away, then,” the Captain replied. “ Who are 
you?” 

“ Herr Buelon. I find it is impossible to control my 
men. They are fools and afraid. But I can’t speak 
loud enough for you to hear, the sound splits my head. 
Will your leader come up, or shall I come down? ” 

Come down,” cried Richard. “ We know you are 
a gentleman at any rate.” 

“ But be careful or you will go off in a flash of 
lightning,” added Stansbury. “ We are wizards here.” 

“ I know something of electrical science myself,” said 
Herr Buelon, coming down. “ My University studies 
tended in that direction.” He reached the engine-room 
platform. “ I have come to say that I am compelled 
to give you up as being beyond my power in the mean- 
time,” he said. “ What compromise will you agree to ? ” 


304 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ That you instantly return to the island we left 
and leave us there with our ship intact/’ said Richard ; 
“ and that Captain Inglis takes command of the ship 
now.” 

“ Are you not asking for more than your present 
position warrants ? ” suggested Herr Buelon. “ I don’t 
think we are in such a state that we need accept that pro- 
posal.” 

“ Then get aloft as quickly as you like,” said Stans- 
bury. “ We are going to explode the magazine.” 

“ But I did not know ” 

“ We can’t help your ignorance. We may as well 
have the satisfaction of sending you to your proper 
home as decide to allow ourselves to be cast away on 
an island.” 

“ Um — how did you manage to entrap that gentle- 
man who is making all the noise on the bridge just 
now ? ” 

“ Oh, easily enough,” laughed Stansbury. “ We can 
even sail the ship back against your will from here. We 
can control the steering-gear by magnates, and at any 
moment we can electrocute every one on deck because it 
is inoculated — insulated, I mean — and we’ve already 
made all the connections.” 

“ I don’t quite understand it,” mused the German. 

“ Nor are you likely to,” said Stansbury. 

“ I did not know you were the chief of the Syndi- 
cate,” said Herr Buelon coldly. “ Why are you the 
only talker ? ” 

“ I’ll talk too if you like,” said Inglis. “ I am not 
as great a talker maybe as Stansbury, but I’ll under- 
take to say that there won’t be a living pirate on board 
this craft after the next twelve hours.” 


Thomson’s Transformer 


305 


“ Dear me ! Gentlemen, I consent to your proposal,” 
Herr Buelon interrupted. “ But, mark you, I make no 
promise about what we shall do after we leave you and 
your ship on the island.” 

“ In that case neither shall we,” said Richard. “ We 
may call upon you to pay a very heavy reckoning in- 
deed, and I for one will never cease doing my utmost 
against you until I get my father and sister and Captain 
Grenville out of your hands.” 

“We are all with you there, boy,” said Captain In- 
glis. “ We’ll fight the skunks at every turn.” 

“ You mention names that are familiar to me, sir,” 
the German remarked. “ I think the gentlemen you 
name are on our ship, the Pacific Queen. However, we 
understand each other. You are to be put back on the 
island as you were, and then war, so to speak, is de- 
clared. Am I right ? ” 

“ Perfectly,” said Richard. “ We are not afraid of 
you.” 

“ Then I shall go and inform the executive as to the 
terms I have made. Believe me, however, you would 
be better to remain below as much as possible. Some of 
our people do not understand the meaning of honour.” 

“ No,” assented Inglis. “ It is hardly in keeping with 
their profession.” 

“ Perhaps not,” said Herr Buelon coldly. “ But I am 
not here in defence of their character, nor of my own. 
It is, I fear, almost entirely to the state of my head that 
you owe this compromise, and I advise you not to take 
us too cheaply next time we meet. By the way, you 
might kindly release the howling person on the bridge. 
His cries irritate me.” 

“ Pull his hand off the rail and he’ll be free,” said 
(b 761) u 


30 6 The Pearl Seekers 

Thomson. “ The telephone is all right if you don’t hold 
on.” 

Herr Buelon smiled. “ You certainly are remarkable 
young men,” he said. “ I wish you good-morning.” 

Thus it came about that a few hours later, as_ the 
rays of the rising sun struggled through the steaming 
haze which floated over the ocean, the Cinderella once 
more approached the gap in the island reef. The boys 
had remained below ; Thomson had prowled about the en- 
gine-room, almost driving the two engineers who had 
lately been their prisoners frantic with his sarcastic crit- 
icisms on their methods. Silent and sullen were the 
Adventurers; they had been foiled, and the thought was 
not pleasing. Herr Buelon had retired to rest, having 
accepted the offer of Richard’s cabin as gratefully as 
if he had been receiving a Royal favour. 

“ I say, Powell,” whispered Thomson abruptly, as 
they approached the gap. “ I don’t like things alto- 
gether.” 

“ Nor I,” answered his comrade. “ What is your 
idea ? ” 

“ You know the coil of cotton-covered wire in the 
empty cabin ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Well, I fancy it might be a good idea for you to 
wind it around your body under your clothes.” 

“ You think we might not be landed as was ar- 
ranged ? ” 

“ I am thinking that that coil of wire will just about 
reach froth the beach to the ends of the wires I laid for 
firing the gun.” 

Powell whistled. “ I understand,” he said. “ I’ll do 
it now.” He walked away, and Thomson continued to 


Thomson’s Transformer 


307 


annoy the engineers, and incidentally to work casually 
at a vice as if to pass the time. 

The Cinderella hoisted some code signals to the 
Pacific Queen which were not answered, and passed in- 
side the reef. The rain had stopped; it would come on 
again at sundown. 


CHAPTER XIV 


The Gun is Fired 

Slowly the little craft battled across the now turbulent 
waters of the lagoon. The long rolling swell outside 
was here a broken mass of shoreward rushing breakers, 
although why the reef did not shelter the lagoon com- 
pletely was not quite clear to the boys. At length the 
entrance to the inlet was gained and the Cinderella 
sailed smoothly in placid waters, and just then a strong 
odoriferous whiff of decomposing oysters assailed the 
nostrils of all on board. 

The Captain and Richard, in answer to a summons, 
had gone on the bridge to take over the ship formally. 
Stansbury and Jack had gone forward to pick out their 
own crew, and Thomson and Powell were still in the 
engine-room. Suddenly the telegraph bell rang out 
‘ stop/ then 4 full speed astern,’ then ‘ stop ’ again, and 
the two down below looking through the port-holes saw 
that they were alongside their old moorings. At the 
same moment they were called on deck, and on passing 
through the doorway were seized and bound tightly 
before they knew exactly what was happening. 

“You needn’t try any dodges this time, my scientific 
friends,” some one said, and Thomson at once recognised 
Bankstone by the voice. “ I am in charge now.” He 
moved in front of them, and his bandaged head put the 
question of his identity beyond doubt. 

308 


The Gun is Fired 


309 


“ What is the meaning of this outrage ?” demanded 
Thomson. “ Where are our friends ? We made an ar- 
rangement with Herr Buelon ” 

“ Which doesn’t count now,” replied Bankstone. 
Herr Buelon is unconscious, and as next in command 
here I have taken the responsibility of making an al- 
teration in the arrangement.” 

“ But we have not agreed to any alteration ” 

“ No, but you can’t help yourselves. As a matter 
of fact we brought you and your ship back here as 
Herr Buelon promised ; we always intended to do that. 
Our only object in sailing away with you was to try to 
obtain the knowledge of the position of the pearl island. 
After that we meant to leave you here in any case. Now, 
however, I see by those pearling tables that not only is 
the island near here, but that you are working it, and 
even at the risk of trouble with Herr Buelon afterwards 
— his notions of what he calls honour are out of place 
among our crowd anyway — I am going to take all that 
shell on board and try again to find the island.” 

“ You are a contemptible liar and sneak,” broke out 
Powell, “ and we’ll pay you for this.” 

“ Don’t make me angry or I’ll order you to be 
lashed,” spoke Bankstone ; “ and I’ll take good care you 
won’t get any chance to work off any more Scientific 
tricks. It is you two who are responsible for that game, 
and I propose to leave ^you here until your comrades 
have shown us the island, how do you like that? ” 

“You are just what Powell says you are,” retorted 
Thomson, “ and a big mean sulking coward as well. 
You would talk of ordering us to be lashed ! Why, you 
uneducated, uncivilised pig, I would lash you if we were 
where there were some Englishmen to see fair play.” 


3io 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ You wretched kid ! I’ll murder you ” 

“ No, you won’t,” interrupted some one. “ I am an 
Englishman myself, and if you feel aggrieved you’ll 
have to give the kid equal chances man to man.” 

“ Hear, hear,” cried several others. “ Bankstone is 
not playing the game.” 

“ Und him dot say he will abuse de boys is a liar,” 
announced Thomson’s late victim, the skipper. “ I 
vas not English nor von half of us here, but I mine- 
self vill guarantee that although we is not, we is gentle- 
men.” 

“ Hear, hear,” again chorused the men, and the 
boys laughed outright. There was something funny in 
the idea that the mongrel crowd aspired to the title of 
gentlemen. 

“ Oh well, have it as you like,” said Bankstone ; “ the 
beggar gave me insolence, but I’ll have my revenge later. 
Get ashore now, all hands, and bring that shell on 
board.” 

The men dispersed, and the two boys were flung 
down in a corner. Two hours later, with the enforced 
assistance of the Cinderella's own crew, including the 
philosophical Ah Sing, about fifty tons of pearl shell 
were stowed away in the holds, and a few pearls taken 
from the tables; then the Cinderella prepared to depart, 
and half an hour later still Thomson and Powell were 
put on shore on the edge of the lagoon. 

“ Good-bye, boys,” cried Slippery Charlie, as the 
dinghy sailed back to the ship after landing them. 
“ You were too clever by a long way for yourselves. I 
don’t think your friends will give us the same trouble.” 

“ Oh yes, they will,” answered Thomson ; “ but say, 
I am wounded, as you know. You are a Briton; you 


The Gun is Fired 


311 

might give us half a chance by cutting these ropes that 
are binding us; you surely don’t fear us now?” 

“ Between ourselves, boys,” said the slippery one, 
coming back out of the boat, “ I fear you at all times, 
but, as you say, I am a Briton, even although the old 
country has never evinced any joy over the fact, and 
hang it all, I’ll give you your freedom anyhow, although 
I owe this head of mine to you.” He cut the bonds 
that bound the two boys and the dinghy pushed off. 

Thomson’s face glowed with suppressed excitement. 
“ Oh, Powell,” he cried, “ if we only had another man ! 
Wherever is Tom? Unwind yourself of that wire as 
fast as you can.” 

The two boys ran into the shelter of the steaming 
vegetation so as not to be observed, and then there 
stepped in front of them a young fashionably-dressed 
English girl. The boys halted. Their astonishment 
was unbounded. What was she doing here? Her face 
was not black, she was not a native, then who was she? 
Powell gave it up and looked to his comrade for an an- 
swer to his unexpressed inquiries. But the lady herself 
solved the problem. 

“ I have a letter to my brother,” she said, “ but I do 
not see him here.” 

“ Your brother?” exclaimed Thomson. “Then you 
are Miss Preston ? ” 

“ That is my name,” she responded. “ But where is 
Richard? Tom wants him urgently.” 

“Tom? Where is he?” cried Powell. “Your brother 
is on board the Cinderella ” 

“ Give me the letter, please,” said Thomson. “ Your 
brother, Tom, and Powell here and I are all comrades. 
We haven’t time to express our joy at meeting you, or 


312 


The Pearl Seekers 

of asking or answering questions just now. We have 
got to stop that ship.” 

She handed him the note without a word, and he 
read aloud : “ We have captured this ship. Come out 

at once and help us to man her. If you have a chance 
train the gun on the Pacific Queen and we shall then 
recapture the Cinderella.” 

“ Great Powers ! ” ejaculated Thomson. “ Who are 
‘we’ who are with Tom? How did you get here?” 
As he spoke he was frantically producing pieces of zinc, 
copper, and rubber from various hidden places about 
his garments, and Powell was spinning round like a 
dervish in a dance. 

“ I came from that ship over there in a boat. My 
father, Captain Grenville, Mr. Murray and a nice little 
Japanese are with Tom, and they’ve got all the pirates 
except Sir Robert bottled up somewhere. But there 
is no time for talk; what can I do to help just now?” 

“ Can you run ? Do you know anything about con- 
necting wires? Do you know where our opening tables 
are ? — Oh, why are you a girl ? ” Thomson poured out 
his words impetuously, and without much regard to 
their intelligibility. He continued to produce nails and 
wire from his dress as he spoke, and Powell ceased not 
in his gyrations. 

“ Of course I can run,” said the young lady. “ And 
I have seen your pearl-opening tables several times. I 
can smell them now.” 

“ There are two wires fastened at the end farthest 
from here. Do you think you could find them ? ” 

“ Yes, yes, I saw them,” answered the girl, catching 
some of Thomson’s excitement. “ Tom showed them 


The Gun is Fired 313 

to us when we passed that way. They are for firing 
the gun.” 

“ Then here,” said Thomson, seizing the terminals 
of the light cable Powell was unwinding from under- 
neath his coat, and scraping the ends bare with his knife. 
“ This is a cable carrying two wires— see, I am laying 
them bare now. Your brother’s safety as well as a 
lot of other things depends on the bare ends of these 
wires being connected tightly with the corresponding 
ends of the other wires before that ship there reaches 
the gap outside. I am wounded and can’t go, and 
Powell is needed here. Can you do it?” 

The girl seized the end of the wire and was off 
with a bound. 

“ Just twist each of your wires round one of the 
others,” cried Thomson, “ and be sure the two lines 
don’t touch where the copper is bared.” 

“ I know,” she called back. “ Mr. Murray has 
taught me something about electricity.” She disap- 
peared round the shore of the inlet, and the wire paid 
out from Powell’s feet faster than he could unwind him- 
self. 

“ Lie down ! ” cried his comrade. “ You’ll get it off 
quicker by rolling on the ground, and not get dizzy 
either.” 

His companion discarded his upper garments, and 
throwing himself on the ground revolved like the barrel 
of a windlass. 

Thomson had now unloaded himself. He had for- 
gotten all about his wound. The Cinderella had hoisted 
her dinghy on board and had commenced to move into 
the lagoon. Catching up a piece of wood, a sheet of 


3i4 


The Pearl Seekers 


copper foil, and a plate of zinc, he rushed down to the 
water’s edge. “ Bring your ends down here when you 
have reached them,” he cried to Powell, and began 
working feverishly with the copper foil. He was mak- 
ing a galvanic battery to fire the gun, and the electrolyte 
was to be the salt water of the ocean. 

Bending the copper foil until it was almost but not 
quite doubled, he threw it down and took up his sheet 
of zinc. On the top of it he bound with thread two 
strips of rubber, and then clamped the whole inside the 
double sheet of copper with more thread. Then he 
strapped the completed arrangement to the piece of wood 
and placed it in the water. It floated, but the copper- 
zinc attachment was immersed. 

Powell had now released himself of the cable and 
ran with the end to his comrade, stripping its two wires 
bare as he did so. Meanwhile the coils paid out quickly, 
showing that so far Miss Preston was making good 
headway. 

But the Cinderella, was half-way across the lagoon. 
Would she be in time? The gun was trained on the 
middle of the gap. Thomson’s idea was to wait until 
her stern was just there, and then to send minute electric 
sparks generated by the action of the salt water on his 
zinc-copper battery along the slender wires to the gun 
far up the mountain. For the rest he trusted to Provi- 
dence. 

“ Perhaps the cable is not long enough,” he cried 
desperately. “ Carry the slack along, Powell.” Seizing 
his quickly-constructed floating generator he limped up 
the inlet shores until the gap was just on the point of 
being hidden. Still the wire paid out. “ Oh, Powell ! 


The Gun is Fired 315 

Will she be in time?” groaned Thompson. “Will she 
find the terminals and connect them properly ? ” 

“ I think so,” answered Powell, who had grasped 
his comrade’s idea from the first. “ See, the wire is not 
running out now. She’ll Te there and joining them up.” 

“If she hasn’t fallen into a hole or tripped some- 
where,” wailed Thomson. “ I daren’t try before the 
Cinderella is just there or the shot will be useless. She 
is almost at the reef now. Watch, Powell, and sing 
out when her stern is in line with the middle of the 
reef.” 

Powell took up his position, and Thomson, fastening 
one wire to the zinc plate, refloated the whole and bent 
over with the other wire in his hand awaiting the signal 
to touch the copper with it, and thus, if Miss Preston 
had succeeded in making the connections, send the magic 
flash along that would fire the gun. What the result 
would be Thomson did not know, but he thought dimly 
that if the shot sank the Cinderella by being a fraction 
of a second miscalculated, his comrades would save 
themselves somehow, and in any case the Pacific Queen 
was in Tom’s hands and could lend assistance. He 
never for a moment doubted the successTul working of 
the feeble battery. He knew it would generate for a 
brief second, when called upon, just sufficient electricity 
to travel the long distance and do all that was required. 

But while Thomson was preparing to play an almost 
theatrical “ lone hand ” in the strange game, other play- 
ers were also ready to take a part. The Cinderella de- 
tachment of course could not do much, although Cap- 
tain Inglis had succeeded in freeing himself, which fact 
he signified by promptly pitching the Dutch skipper into 


The Pearl Seekers 


316 

the scuppers. As a matter of fact he was in command 
of the bridge as the ship approached the gap, and was 
calculating whether he should run her on the reef or 
ram the Pacific Queen. Jack had likewise broken his 
bonds and was cutting out Stansbury to assist him in 
some plan he was maturing. 

It was on the Pacific Queen that the chief factors of 
resistance to the Cinderella’s free passage lay. Captain 
Grenville was lying behind the quick-firer ready to sweep 
the deck of everything alive when the Cinderella passed. 
Murray had gained access to the engine-room, and with 
Kotay’s assistance in the stoke-hole was ready to drive 
the Pacific Queen in pursuit should the other vessel sus- 
pect anything and try to run away. Mr. Preston pa- 
trolled the decks looking for any signs of prisoners 
escaping, and Tom was everywhere at once, although 
Sir Robert’s binoculars were seldom from his eyes, one 
moment scanning the oncoming Cinderella, and the next 
sweeping the shore for his comrades. 

Sir Robert had thrown himself into a deck-chair, 
and was smoking a fragrant cigar as if neither care nor 
worry were within thousands of miles of him. On came 
the Cinderella, its officers, crew, and enforced passen- 
gers alike unconscious of what was in store. Already 
Captain Grenville had tried the mechanism of the quick- 
firer, and a grim smile of anticipation was on his face. 
He would have a chance at last of getting even with 
the wreckers, and he did not then care much what hap- 
pened after that. Tom looking through his powerful 
glasses recognized with a start that Captain Inglis was 
on the bridge, but even as he looked he saw several 
men throw themselves upon him and haul him from 
the wheel. In consequence the vessel swung round 


The Gun is Fired 


317 

slightly and drifted broadside on towards the gap. She 
was quickly caught up, however, by one of the men, 
but her momentum had been checked, and she was in 
the middle of the gap before her stern came into line 
with the reef. At that moment a blinding flash leaped 
out from the mountain side, and next second a report 
not unlike the crack of a mighty whip reverberated 
through the air. A loud hissing noise accompanied the 
report, which increased in intensity until it seemed to 
shriek. This sound culminated in a crash, a rattle of 
chains, and the shouts of men. The Cinderella's rudder 
had been shot away, her steering-gear had sprung with 
the attendant jar, and the steering chains were broken. 
She drifted through the gap and swung round helpless, 
her momentum only saving her from being dashed back 
upon the reef by the mighty rollers. 

Captain Grenville stared at the helpless craft for a 
moment and then up the hillsides. He did not leave 
his post, however, and prepared to exact his toll when 
she drifted into a more favourable position for him. 
Tom smiled; he saw that the damage could be repaired 
and that the game was now in his hands. 

Sir Robert took his cigar from his mouth and stood 
up. “ Dear me ! ” he remarked. “ Most astonishing ! 
The notice was true after all. Things look bad for the 
Adventurers.” 

“ They do,” said Tom, overhearing his words. “ I 
don’t think we’ll require your six hours’ neutrality now. 
But, by Jupiter, Richard or Thomson must have flown 
up that hill! It is only a quarter of an hour since I 
saw the dinghy putting them ashore.” 

“ Er — may I ask what you propose doing next ? ” 
inquired Sir Robert, languidly replacing his cigar. 


The Pearl Seekers 


318 


“ I am going to summon your pirate gang to sur- 
render unconditionally.” 

“And if they refuse?” 

Tom shrugged his shoulders significantly, and pointed 
up the mountain. 

“ Who fired that gun ? ” 

“ That is a point, Sir Robert, that I prefer to keep 
secret.” 

“ Oh ! Well, it was a splendid shot. Since when 
has there been a gun mounted up there ? ” 

“ Since you were here last. And in order to let you 
understand one or two things I may tell you it is your 
own gun. We took it from your depot on shore along 
with one or two other trifles. But I require your aid 
just now.” 

“ Indeed ! In what way can I assist you ? ” 

“ The Cinderella will be on the reef shortly unless 
taken in hand. At a signal from me a storm of shot 
will rain upon her deck from your own quick-firer.” 

“ Yes?” 

“ I wish you to tell your people that, and also to 
say that I desire all our men to be sent on board this 
ship.” 

“ I understand. Then you will transfer those here 
to that ship, and either sink her or further disable her? ” 

“ No, we are not Pacific policemen. We want our 
own ship. Will you talk to them?” 

“ I will ; but see that you do not foolishly throw 
away the advantage you have got. There is such a 
thing as being too sure, you know, and I have no- 
ticed that youthful people frequently fall into that er- 
ror.” 

“ Thank you, but if any one trusts to the youth of 


The Gun is Fired 


319 


my comrades and myself to bring about' a blunder, they 
will make a mistake.” 

Sir Robert bowed in answer and mounted the bridge. 
The two ships were quite close now, and the Cinderella s 
anchor had been thrown out. 

“ I say, men,” called Sir Robert, “ you have blun- 
dered. Tell Herr Buelon I wish to talk to him.” 

“ Herr Buelon is not able to talk, sir,” answered 
Bankstone. “ His head is split. We’re all half-dead 
here.” 

“ Ah ! The boys proved too much for you, I pre- 
sume ? ” Sir Robert’s voice was tinged with sarcasm. 

“ Some of them did, but we landed them ; the others 
we have got pretty well in hand now. We have a cargo 
of shell, too, but what are we to do about that gun up 
there?” 

“ I am afraid you can do nothing. As a matter of 
painful fact, I have to announce that we’ve lost con- 
siderably on this deal. This ship is in the hands of 
the enemy, and it is under compulsion that I am speak- 
ing now. I am requested to ask you to send all your 
prisoners on board this ship at once, or you will imme- 
diately be blown out of the water.” 

“ What ! ” gasped a crowd of men. “ Why didn’t 
you warn us coming in ? ” 

“ Discussion is painful and useless. Kindly do as I 
have instructed, or say you refuse.” 

“ Have we no chance ? ” 

“ None that I can see. We attempted a greater task 
than we could accomplish, that’s all, and have now to 
pay the penalty.” 

“But — but can’t we rush the Queen in our boats? 
They daren’t fire on themselves.” 


320 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ My dear Bankstone, you may try if you like, but 
I give you my word you’ll be where all of our pro- 
fession eventually go the first second after you make 
the attempt. Our own quick-firer is trained on you 
now, and by a gentleman who, from what I hear, has 
some reason to hope you’ll give him an excuse to kill 
you.” 

“ But we’ve got fifty ton of first-class shell ! ” 

“ Which you stole, I believe. You see the moral, 
Bankstone, I hope? Please begin the disembarkation.” 

And Bankstone did. He held a hurried conversa- 
tion with his men, and shortly afterwards the dinghy 
was lowered and the Captain, Stansbury, Richard, and 
Jack were brought on deck and told to take their places 
therein. Probably there would have been another fight 
there and then, had not the sullen faces of the men 
made Richard believe that there was some truth in the 
tale they told them about the Pacific Queen being in 
the hands of their friends. However, they came on 
board, and were received by Tom and Mr. Preston, and 
if ever there was a more joyous meeting anywhere, 
then it must have given a pleasure of which the ordinary 
human mind has no conception. 

But there was little time for talk. Tom told them 
to arm themselves, and Mr. Preston led the way to the 
armoury. Acting on Tom’s instructions, Murray and 
Kotay had also come on deck and had relieved Captain 
Grenville, and just then both Tom and Sir Robert saw 
a boat push off from the mainland carrying two men 
and a girl. 

Meanwhile the men behind the quick-firer watched 
the opposite deck for any signs of action, and thus 
things stood until Miss Preston, Thomson, and Powell 
were hauled on board. Words cannot describe the sur- 


The Gun is Fired 


321 


prise nor the pleasure the party experienced in being 
together again, and it would be futile to attempt to 
describe the various emotions of each as they realized 
that they had regained parents, sister, sons, friends, com- 
rades, and ships, after it had seemed entirely hopeless 
to think of such a thing. 

Sir Robert broke in upon the happy party : “ Excuse 
my seeming rudeness,” he said, “ and allow me to offer 
my congratulations to you all, but I should like to re- 
mind you that your work is not yet finished.” 

Those of the party who had not yet seen Sir Robert 
turned and stared with surprise at the immaculately- 
dressed gentleman who had joined them. He had found 
time to shave himself and complete an elaborate toilet 
that morning, and to the others looked very dandified 
indeed. 

“Is this another of our marooned friends?” Captain 
Inglis asked, surveying him critically and half-contemp- 
tuously. Powell and Jack turned away to hide a smile, 
and Richard looked to Tom for an explanation. 

“ No,” answered Sir Robert before any one could 
speak, “ I am the bold bad villain who, with my friend 
Herr Buelon, shares the command of this band of des- 
peradoes whom you have captured.” He bowed to Miss 
Preston, and continued, “ Please do not needlessly insult 
me by supposing I am trying to make amends for my 
sins, or being in any way desirous of favour. I merely 
wish to state that the moment that other vessel came 
within hail I set in operation a little piece of mechanism 
you can’t possibly find, which at the last second of the 
sixth hour will blow this ship to fragments.” 

“ I’m a bit of a story-teller myself,” drawled Stans- 
bury. “I ” 

“ You certainly look it, young man ; but I was not 
(b 761) V 


322 


The Pearl Seekers 


addressing you. My compact was with the gentleman 
whom, if he will excuse the familiarity, I shall call Mr. 
Tom ” 

“ I have not forgotten, Sir Robert,” said Tom, “ but 
we shall be off the ship in good time if my engineer 
comrades have not lost their cunning.” 

“ Then that is all I have to say. I really hope that 
you will not be troubled further by any of our organi- 
sation, and will write a letter to that effect which you 
can post at the first port.” 

“ Will you tell me, please,” said Richard, “ if my 
uncle is a member of your Society ? ” 

Mr. Preston started. “ What makes you think that, 
Richard ? ” he asked anxiously. 

“ I would not answer your question, sir, were it not 
for the fact that I feel so ashamed of the actions of 
the people who marooned a lady, that I — well, no, I 
will not conclude my statement. Your uncle — I pre- 
sume, of course, Mr. Preston of Worchester is the gen- 
tleman you mean — has nothing whatever to do with us, 
but I believe my predecessor here thought it policy to 
insinuate that he had.” 

“ Thank you,” said Mr. Preston, with an expression 
of great relief. “ You have taken a great weight of 
trouble from my mind by your statement. I shall do 
all I can for you in return.” 

“ You misunderstood me, sir. I do not wish any- 
thing done for me. This has been a nice little play, 
but, unlike the orthodox stage villain, I am not repent- 
ant. I will go off this planet with the limelight play- 
ing around, and the music of bursting boilers in my 
ears.” 

“ I have some doubts about that,” said Tom, who 


The Gun is Fired 


323 


had been giving some instructions while Sir Robert had 
been speaking, as a result of which Jack unbarred the 
companion-way and called down : “ The presence of 

all you gentlemen Adventurers is required on deck. We 
are not your executioners, and hope to say good-bye to 
you shortly, therefore there is no occasion for you to 
carry arms. The person who does will be dealt with 
according to the law of the sea relating to pirates. You 
are requested to come in twos, with one full minute 
between each couple. Any one disregarding the time 
limit will also be dealt with without a trial. Come 
now ! ” 

The party stood in line on the deck around the 
companion-way entrance with revolvers in each hand, 
and Sir Robert entered into conversation with Miss 
Preston. It was some time before any of the Adven- 
turers appeared, but on Jack repeating his call, with 
some additional remarks from Captain Inglis and Stans- 
bury, they began to issue forth in couples. If looks 
could kill, the whole ship would have been speedily 
annihilated, but as those in command were gifted with 
natures not affected by threats or looks, no harm was 
done, and despite the curses, threats and general bad 
language, each couple was marched forward and invited 
to descend into the hold by means of a rope-ladder, 
which was then pulled up until the next couple came 
along. In all about twenty men of every nationality 
were placed in the hold, but most of them were in such 
a state of drunkenness that they could have offered no 
opposition even had they had a chance. When all were 
down the hatches were closed excepting for a few spaces 
left for ventilation, and then Tom addressed Sir Robert, 
who seemed to be enjoying the proceedings. 


3 2 4 The Pearl Seekers 


“ I must trouble you again, Sir Robert/’ Tom said. 
“ I wish you to convey some orders to your men on the 
Cinderella” 

“ Very well, your Majesty. Will you kindly formu- 
late them ? ” responded Sir Robert, going on the bridge 
again. 

“ Then tell your men to go into the after-hold and 
remain there until further orders.” 

But you surely do not expect them to do any such 
thing?” expostulated Sir Robert. “ You can’t make 
such a number of men do that ” 

“ Very well, nothing remains but to sink them. We 
certainly will not share our ship with them.” 

“ Oh, you mean to transfer them afterwards ? In 
that case I will tell them.” 

“ Also say that if there are any carpenters or en- 
gineers among them willing to work, they may stay on 
deck after signifying their intentions, but if a weapon 
of any kind is found on them they will instantly pay the 
usual penalty. We can’t adopt half measures with pi- 
rates.” 

“ You might use the term Adventurers instead of 
that obsolete expression. Strictly speaking, we are not 
pirates.” 

“ I don’t think any nation’s cruiser would recognise 
the difference,” laughed Tom. “ Will you do as I have 
said?” » 

“ Well, personally I would rather you would shoot 
me. I do not care to convey further orders to any one. 
Still, of course, if you think my assistance is essen- 
tial ” 


“ Which it is not,” interrupted Tom. “ I can speak 
myself.” He leaped on the bridge and cried : “ Gentle- 


The Gun is Fired 


325 


men pirates on the Cinderella , we are about to take over 
our own ship, and as we do not care that you should 
be free while we are doing so, I must request you to go 
down into the after-hold and remain there until we are 
finished. Any one found with arms will be shot on 
sight. Am I plain ? ” 

“ You are/’ replied Bankstone. “ Mighty plain. 
But if we won’t go down the hold? ” 

“ I give you one minute to decide on that point,” 
cried Tom. “ Either way will please me.” 

“ Oh, I know what that means. We’ll go, but you’ll 
have a bad time when next we get our hands on you. 
There will be no Herr Buelon to save you.” 

Here Thomson said a few words to Tom, and he 
at once cried : “ That gentleman of course need not go 

below ; leave him in his cabin. And, by the way, if there 
are any engineers or carpenters among your gang who 
are willing to help to make good the damage done, they 
can remain on deck. We shall pay them for their work, 
even as we shall exact recompense for any losses we 
have sustained from you all.” 

The men on the Cinderella seemed to hold a con- 
sultation, and Mr. Preston turned to Captain Grenville 
and said : “ Captain, I congratulate you on your having 

a son like that. He was assuredly born to command, 
and ” 

“ He can command, father,” said Richard, who had 
been talking to his sister nearly all the time after in- 
troductions had been made all around. “ But all the 
partners can do that. They have inventions on board 
that ship over there, which, by the way, they raised from 
the bottom of the sea, that can make their fortune any 
time.” 


326 


The Pearl Seekers 


“Partners?” exclaimed Mr. Preston. “I hardly 
understand. Are they partners in any enterprise? If 
so, and I have still the wealth at home I previously 
had, I want to buy a share for you, Richard. Captain 
Inglis has told me something of their extraordinary 
abilities.” 

“ Richard is a partner already,” put in Jack, “ and 
we don’t need any one to buy interests. There were 
five of us originally, and ” 

“ Thomson,” said Tom from the bridge, “ do you 
think you can hold out on your feet a bit longer? There 
are some men over there who are willing to help, but 
we need both Powell and you to see to the work, or 
we can have no faith in it.” 

“ Who said there was anything the matter with 
me?” growled Thomson. “I just fancy I should like 
to see the man who would touch the Cinderella without 
me being there — excepting, of course, Powell ; he knows 
everything.” 

“ Well,” said Tom, “ the other fellows have gone 
below. I am starving, and I suppose you all feel the 
same way. Let us get over to our own ship now, and 
Ah Sing will soon prepare something to eat.” 

“What, are you going to leave this ship, Tom?” 
asked Captain Grenville in surprise. “ Why, we’ll be 
powerless on board a little craft like that, crippled as 
she is.” 

“ No, we won’t,” Captain Inglis answered. “ When 
you know your son, sir, and his comrades as I do, you 
will also know that it is impossible for the partners to 
make a mistake. They are more than a match for all 
the pirates that ever sailed.” 


The Gun is Fired 


327 

“ And what about me, pray ? ” inquired Sir Robert. 
“ I cannot promise not to liberate my men.” 

“ We won’t ask you,” said Tom. “ We’ll take you 
with us. Thomson tells me Herr Buelon has had an 
accident, and as my father says you have medical skill, 
doubtless you will be glad to attend to your friend.” 

By this time Powell and Kotay had got into the 
Cinderella's dinghy lying alongside, and soon they were 
pulling towards their own ship with Captain Inglis, Jack, 
and Mr. Preston also on board. They lost no time in 
climbing on deck and setting their crew free, and then 
battened down the hatches on their prisoners as had 
been done on the Pacific Queen. The rest of the party 
soon followed on one of the other vessel’s boats, and 
while the dinghy went back for Murray, Thomson and 
Powell sailed round the Cinderella's stern to inspect the 
damage. It took them only a very short time to de- 
termine what should be done, and coming on board 
again they instructed those who had been willing to 
help them to make a temporary rudder. There was 
nothing on the Cinderella from which a substitute could 
be improvised, however, and a working party went on 
board the Pacific Queen and hauled down the woodwork 
and iron girders of some of its cabins, and also borrowed 
a quantity of tools. Murray meanwhile had disarranged 
the gear of the gun in the Pacific Queen's bows, and 
removed the pin in the connecting-rod of the high-press 
engine, and came on board the Cinderella to render 
trained assistance. Tom, after consultation with Ah 
Sing, who complained bitterly of the havoc made among 
his stores by the Adventurers, sent another party to the 
Pacific Queen under command of Kotay to make good 


328 


The Pearl Seekers 


the shortage, and also to supplement their luxuries if 
possible, in view of the fact that they were now to have 
guests, including a lady, on the Cinderella. 

Thomson and Powell were working like Trojans at 
the stern all the time, and when Murray came on board 
he immediately gave his attention to the steering-gear, 
forging new links for the broken chain in a marvellous 
manner with the aid of Aquinili and the boiler fires. 
The rest of the crew had set about their duties with a 
will, their delight at being again free and under their 
old masters being easily manifest in the alacrity with 
which they worked. Thus an hour passed, and then 
another. Steam was fast rising on the Cinderella's 
gauges, and Ah Sing had signified that he had some 
preparation ready, but the rudder was not yet finished, 
and it was now approaching noon. 

Suddenly Tom turned to Sir Robert. That individual 
had been below with Herr Buelon, but had now come 
on deck. 

“ I regret having to state/’ said Tom, “ that only two 
of the six hours’ truce now remain, and we are not get- 
ting ready fast enough.” 

“ I regret the fact too, my boy, but I warned you, 
and, well — what do you expect of me ? ” 

“ Nothing, only I thought that seeing you will not 
have the chance of being blown up with that ship at 
the expiry of six hours, you might not care to see those 
on board suffer that fate.” 

“ But you cannot object to my going on board with 
them ? It will save you inconvenience ” 

“ But we do object. You are a hostage, and besides 
I learn that your men broke their word shamefully with 


The Gun is Fired 


329 


our fellows, and therefore I have no intention of being 
too nice with them.” 

“ You have no right to make me a coward, sir. 
Herr Buelon has informed me that his orders were dis- 
regarded by his subordinates, and we both desire to be 
placed on board the Pacific Queen in order to — — ” 

“ Which you won’t. We cannot be party to any 
such massacre, and I therefore inform you that we can’t 
sail until our rudder is finished. Our engineers are 
worn out and not likely to get it completed before the 
six hours are up. I promise you, and like yourself I 
keep my word, that when we are ready, the — gentle- 
men — of your party at present on board this ship will 
be transferred to the Pacific Queen , and we’ll call all 
things square for the time. Now, for obvious reasons 
we shall keep both you and Herr Buelon on this ship 
until we reach the nearest port, where you will be put 
on shore.” 

“ Why do you tell me all this ? It is not British to 
taunt a helpless prisoner.” 

“ I am not taunting you. Can’t you see I am try- 
ing to give your gang a chance? Look around, every 
man — and woman — of our party is working. Order 
your men to help and we will be ready in time, but 
first make yourself answerable for them, for we are not 
strong enough to guard them as well as carry on the 
work.” 

“ My dear boy, they would not obey me when they 
saw how weak you were. Why not call in those you 
have up the mountain beside the gun ? ” 

“ Because we have no one there. The gun is fired 
electrically.” 


33 ° 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ You don’t mean to say that this ship was struck 
by a shot she was the means of firing herself ? ” 

“ I did not say so, and I cannot give you any further 
information on the subject. If you cannot answer for 
your men, of course, we need say no more.” 

“ If the Adventurers’ engineers turn out and do your 
work, what do they get in return ? ” 

“ The liberty to return to their ship whenever we 
can sail, and thus be in time to save their comrades by 
stopping your deadly machine. I presume they know 
where it is? ” 

“ Oh, I could instruct them.” Sir Robert paused 
and reflected. “ I’ll tell you,” he said at length. “ I 
would like to save the poor beggars if it were possible ; 
they’ll all be hanged sooner or later of course, but that’s 
neither here nor there. Call up all your own men and 
make them stand guard over my scoundrels. They will 
do your work, for some of them are very clever emer- 
gency men — they have to be at times — and I will be 
relieved of responsibility; but I warn you to keep your 
eye on them.” 

“ Then order them up,” said Tom. “ Let them know 
the state of affairs, and I will gather in the Cinderella's 
people.” 

Sir Robert bent over the hatch and called on a 
dozen men by name to come on deck, and Tom mus- 
tered the Cinderella' s force excepting Thomson and 
Powell, who insisted on keeping at their work over the 
screw. 

“ You are in a somewhat strange position, boys,” 
Sir Robert said to the Adventurers. “ You will be free 
to leave this ship and go on board the Pacific Queen, 
and after that do as you like, when this ship has been 


The Gun is Fired 


33i 


made ready to sail. I would not have called upon you 
but for the fact that unless you get on board your own 
ship before one hour fifty-three minutes and some sec- 
onds have expired, the Pacific Queen will be scattered 
in pieces over the ocean. I have set my automatic firer 
— which some of you know about — in the usual place. 
Now you know everything, your duty is to get this craft 
away in time for you to be able to stop that machine.” 

“ There ain’t no chance of swimming for it now, 
boss ? ” asked one. 

“ Not the slightest, as you will see if you look round. 
You had best do as I have suggested. You’ll find that 
rudder post is twisted badly and requires straightening, 
and you will also have to finish and ship that new rudder 
lying there. You may also examine the screw and the 
steering-gear.” 

“ That has been attended to already,” said Murray. 

“ All right, sir,” cried one of the men, apparently a 
leading engineer. “ We can have her right in fifty 
minutes.” He picked up a hammer and chisel and be- 
gan cutting through an iron bar preparatory to fixing it 
across the improvised rudder, and his comrades at once 
set about making good other damages, some going over 
the side to see what was required there. Thomson and 
Powell were working under the stern ; they had a dinghy 
underneath them, but they were perched high up on a 
beam they had swung with ropes from above. They 
were glad of assistance, nevertheless, although it was 
rather a strange sensation, as Powell remarked, for them 
“ to have pirates as mates.” The pirates knew their 
business, all the same, and soon the fellow-feeling among 
engineers spread among them, and they laughed and 
chatted as if they were at a bench in a workshop, com- 


332 


The Pearl Seekers 


pletely ignoring by tacit consent the relations in which 
they stood to each other. 

Meanwhile the steam was rising in the Cinderella's 
boilers, and Murray had examined the engines thor- 
oughly. 

“ We’ll be finished in ten minutes,” Thomson cried 
to Tom, as the latter leaned over the rail and inquired 
how things were progressing. And they were. Murray 
took a turn out of the engines to see that all was right, 
and Captain Inglis tried the steering powers. Every- 
thing was right. 

“ Get into the boats now, gentlemen,” cried Tom, 
“ but don’t push off until your comrades are with you. 
You have still three-quarters of an hour to spare.” 

Those who had been working swarmed into the 
Pacific Queen's boat at once and waited, every available 
revolver covering them meanwhile. The Cinderella s 
largest boat was then hurriedly lowered, and the rest of 
the men from below bundled into it. 

“ You need not bring that boat back,” cried Tom, 
as Inglis sprang to the bridge. “We can do without it.” 

Thomson and Powell climbed on board and the 
dinghy was hauled up. 

“ Full speed ahead,” rang the engine-room bell. 
Murray responded by throwing wide the throttle valves, 
and the Cinderella glided away. Immediately after Ah 
Sing’s gong sounded, and every one suddenly remem- 
bered they had had nothing to eat for the last twenty- 
four hours. 


CHAPTER XV 


The Adventurers Find the Island 

Proudly the Cinderella danced over the deep blue 
swell. The afternoon sun was still striving to send its 
shafts of light through the great banks of clouds which 
were every minute growing denser and darker overhead. 
Soon they would burst again and the rain would pour 
down mercilessly and steadily until next morning. But 
if the clouds were heavy, hearts were light, and in two 
days’ sail the Cinderella would be out of the zone of 
the rainy weather 

Strangely enough the boys did not now seem to 
care to go down to the saloon for dinner. They re- 
membered the untidy state in which they had left it, 
and also felt that now that they had a lady on board 
some change in their sodden dilapidated garments was 
necessary before they could present themselves. Be- 
sides, they felt that they had no time to waste in eat- 
ing; cabins had to be arranged for their guests, and 
many other things required their attention. Finally it 
was agreed that Richard and Tom should dress and 
attend to their guests, while the others who could be 
spared off duty should set to work to provide suitable 
accommodation for them. 

Perhaps this arrangement was the best under the 
circumstances, and hastily swallowing some food in the 

333 


334 


The Pearl Seekers 


pantry the tireless Thomson, with Jack, Stansbury, 
Kotay and the intelligent Aquinili, started to work again. 
In the saloon soon after, Mr. Preston with his son and 
daughter, Captain Grenville and his son, and Mr. Mur- 
ray the hardy thoughtful engineer, sat down to lunch. 
Tom whispered a few words to Richard and then to 
his father, who seemed to assent to what he said, and 
Richard went out, returning shortly with Sir Robert. 
The last-named found it extremely difficult to sustain 
his imperturbability, and it was with a slight suspicion 
of a flush on his face that he said : “ Ladies and gen- 

tlemen, I thank you for asking me to join you here, 
but — er — I, that is — while personally our relations to- 
gether have always been pleasant, there have been some 
little matters which should perhaps cause this to be a 
happy reunion in which my presence can only be a jar- 
ring note. With your permission I will therefore retire 
and join my friend Herr Buelon in the cabin so kindly 
given over to him.” 

“ Sir Robert,” said Tom, “ on behalf of myself and 
comrades I may say that we bear you no ill-will. What 
Mr. Preston and my father have against you they are 
content to waive for the present. No family matters 
shall be discussed here just now because my comrades 
and I, after attending to you all, must go and help the 
others. Afterwards, when we have everything well in 
hand, we may hear each other’s stories.” 

Sir Robert sat down, and Ah Sing brought in what 
he had so hurriedly prepared. There were no ceremo- 
nies at the lunch ; every one knew that a great deal of 
work had to be done, and also realised that they were 
by no means safe from pursuit. Thus at the very earli- 
est moment Tom and Richard excused themselves and 


Adventurers Find the Island 335 

left to assist the others. Murray also insisted on taking 
Powell’s place by the engines, thereby setting free an- 
other valuable worker. 

But neither Mr. Preston, Captain Grenville nor Miss 
Preston was disposed to allow their rescuers to do all 
the work, and arming themselves with tools the two gen- 
tlemen set to work with an energy and skill that showed 
their six years’ enforced residence on the island had 
not been entirely without result. Miss Preston had seen 
much room for improvement in the saloon, and when 
the ever-cheerful Ah Sing had cleared the dishes away, 
she began to make alterations which very soon gave the 
little apartment a different aspect. In this Ah Sing, as 
soon as he had finished his own special duties, joined 
her; and Sir Robert, after making several attempts to 
render assistance and being coldly ignored each time, 
went on deck. 

“You Missy Pleston?” asked Ah Sing as he swept 
out the floor. 

“Yes; what is your name? ” answered the lady, smil- 
ing. 

“ Ah Sing, blamee good cookee. Makee all solt of 
things out of ole boots.” 

“ Indeed ; you must be very clever.” 

“ Oh yes, vely clevel. Can make ladies’ dlesses too. 
Like help you if you want any. Lots of pletty libbons 
an’ silk an’ shoes on ship now. Misel Tom tellee me 
to tellee you an’ show you them. He tellee me maybe 
you takee what you wantee. All youls.” 

“Did he?” cried the girl eagerly. “You have rib- 
bons and silks and shoes on board for me? Where are 
they? Take me to them. I should like a pair of shoes 
very much.” 


336 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Oh, we have lots of things on this ship. Got boxes 
of chocolate too. Come with me.” 

Miss Preston looked round to see if anything else 
claimed her attention, but everything was now to her 
mind, so she followed Ah Sing with all the eagerness 
of a school-girl to where all sorts of finery had been laid 
out for her. 

“ This is Misel Tom’s cabin,” said Ah Sing. “ He 
tellee me tellee you he give it to you.” 

“ Oh, what a lot of nice things,” she cried in delight. 
“ Are they all for me ? ” 

“Allee youls. Misel Tom say you blame well have 
evelything you want on Cindelella. Ah Sing must lun 
now, he lot wulluk befo’ get dinnel leady fo’ to-night. 
He makee blamee good dinnel allee same, an’ when you 
wantee me you callee me.” The Celestial ran off to 
the galley, and Miss Preston revelled among her new 
possessions, which included everything in the way of 
ladies’ requirements that the chief lady saleswoman in 
the largest emporium in Sydney could suggest. 

Many hands make light work, and the boys found 
their tasks nearing completion much sooner than they 
had expected. They had fitted up and furnished sev- 
eral empty cabins which had hitherto been used as store- 
rooms, placed in them all the small articles they pos- 
sessed which tend to make a place home-like, and con- 
nected the electric light. Nor had they forgotten their 
wounded guest Herr Buelon, Powell having fitted an 
electric bell by which he could call any one when he de- 
sired. He was now in a state of high fever, however, 
and Sir Robert appeared to be much concerned about 
him. 

When all was finished it was late in the afternoon, 


Adventurers Find the Island 337 

and the boys ran off to make themselves more present- 
able, for as yet they had hardly exchanged more than 
a dozen words with their guests, while Miss Preston 
had not even been seen except from a distance by some 
of them. Seeing that they could be of no more service 
below, Mr. Preston and Captain Grenville went on deck 
and watched the island which had been their home so 
long fade into the mist. 

“ I can’t realise that we are actually free men among 
our own people and on board a civilised ship,” Mr. Pres- 
ton remarked to his companion. “ It all seems like a 
dream from which I will awaken soon, and either find 
myself back’ on the island planting potatoes, or on board 
that pirate ship just disappearing down on the stern 
now.” 

“ I feel much the same way myself,” said Captain 
Grenville. “ I can’t understand things at all. Our sons 
have grown into men, and of a type, to say the least, 
extraordinary. How came they to be sailing in these 
parts with a steam yacht of their own, manned by them- 
selves and comrades — and such comrades? Why, they 
are all boys but Captain Inglis, and he is not very much 

more ” He stopped and sniffed the air. “ There is 

one thing that would convince me that things are real,” 
he continued, “ and that is a good cigar, and unless my 
senses are playing me tricks the aroma of an excellent 
one is in the air now.” 

“ Why, yes, Grenville, the Captain is smoking one 
now. Dear me! I’ve got quite a craving for a smoke. 
I wonder if he would think it odd if we should ask him 
for one.” 

“ Here he comes himself. I see he has been relieved 
by a junior officer in full regimentals. This yacht looks 

(b 761) W 


33 » 


The Pearl Seekers 


as if it were owned by a syndicate of millionaires, judg- 
ing by the flashiness of its officers.” 

“ Good-evening, gentlemen,” spoke Captain Inglis, 
walking aft to them. “ I am sorry if I have appeared 
to have neglected you, but I had to take the ship out, 
and being probably the most useless man below I took 
a double watch on the bridge.” 

“ Captain Inglis,” said Mr. Preston, “ my friend 
Captain Grenville and I have had sufficient time on that 
island back there to learn how to appreciate sterling 
qualities in a man. While we were eating and drinking 
and shirking our share of responsibility, you alone 
looked after our safety, and taking everything upon 
yourself have brought us out of the reach of our ene- 
mies ” 

“ Hold hard, sir,” interrupted Inglis. “ I am only 
a very ordinary mud-scraping skipper ; I did nothing 
to deserve such credit. But, by the great Federal City, 
I am ready to go back and fight the pirates if the boys 
say the word ! Wonderful boys those sons of yours, 
gentlemen, but then all the partners are that. Why, I 
shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if they built wings 
on this craft and flew the rest of our journey. They 
can do anything. But I am forgetting again — I have 
some fairly good cigars if you would care to try them. 
I was the only smoker on board, but I am sure Captain 
Grenville smokes.” 

“ I did, Inglis, but I have almost forgotten the way,” 
laughed Captain Grenville, accepting a cigar from In- 
glis’s case. “We didn’t grow them in our little garden, 
although I think Murray tried to cultivate the tobacco 
plant.” 

“Ah,” sighed Mr. Preston, blowing a cloud of fra- 


Adventurers Find the Island 339 

grant smoke into the air. “ This is happiness now. 
This is real, Grenville.” 

“ There is not much doubt about the cigar at any- 
rate,” responded Captain Grenville. “ But if you have 
a minute or so to spare, Captain Inglis, you might en- 
lighten us on one or two points. How do we happen 
to be here, for instance? What sort of ship is this? To 
whom does it belong, and where are its officers and 
crew? We have only seen yourself and that young gen- 
tleman on the bridge now.” 

“ The partners officer and engineer this ship them- 
selves with the exception of Stansbury and myself/’ said 
Captain Inglis. “ It belongs to them, for they raised it 
from the bottom of the sea themselves.” 

“The partners! Who are they?” asked Mr. Pres- 
ton. “ It all sounds so strange that yet I fear to find it 
a dream.” 

“ Not much dream about them, sir. There are five 
of them, and I reckon they’re equal to any number of 
people. They are all boys, tod. It is only about five 
weeks or so since I met them first down in Sydney, but 
I feel as if I had known them for ages.” 

“ But why were they in Sydney ? What were they 
doing there, and what induced them, and how did they 
manage to raise the ship from the ocean ? ” 

“ Now you are asking conundrums. I met them first 
along with a reporter fellow who seemed to have heard 
strange yarns about them. We chummed up a bit, and 
after they raised the Cinderella — they bought her at a 
sale — they offered me the chance of being her skipper. 
It was only when we were well out to sea that they 
told me to head for 158° 5' by 4 0 2' 3". And, by the 
Southern Cross, they were prepared to make me do so 


340 


The Pearl Seekers 


if I had objected ! Of course I had suspected they were 
on a filibustering game, and as it was all the same to 
me I did as they wished. Ajfterwards I was told that 
young Grenville had received a message in a bottle from 
his father giving him the position I mentioned as being 
that of a pearl-shell island, but as we sailed north we 
discovered that we were watched by some strange gang 
who evidently knew of the same island, but did not know 
where it was.” 

“ No,” laughed Captain Grenville, “ they couldn’t 
find it on the face of the waters, and we would not tell 
them. After a time they stopped looking for it, but 
they seemed to have decided on making another attempt 
some time ago, and all the old gang who mutinied and 
then marooned us came back with some new men, many 
of whom appeared to be gentlemen with what I should 
call a twist in their mental powers, so that their ideas 
of right and wrong were sadly out of perspective. But 
go on with your story, Captain. I remember sending 
several messages to Tom and other people in bottles, 
but we found most of them afterwards thrown back 
upon the shore.” 

“ Well, we soon discovered that we had somehow 
run against a gang of modern pirates, whose influence 
was such that they had managed to keep their existence 
a secret so far, and when we came to the island ” 

“ Where I said it was ? ” asked Captain Grenville. 

“ Exactly — ” Inglis looked round in the fast-fall- 
ing darkness and then continued in a slightly louder tone 
of voice — “ and found it wasn’t there. There is no 
island within twenty-five miles of the position.” 

“ But I assure you we saw the island ourselves,” said 
Mr. Preston, “ and a Manillaman on board dived down 


Adventurers Find the Island 341 

and brought up some exquisite pearl shell. We could 
see them quite plainly from the deck too ” 

“ Excuse me, gentlemen,” interrupted a voice, and 
Sir Robert came forward, “ I am so interested in the few 
chance words which I could not help hearing that I 
must save my honour by letting you know I am here.” 

“ Oh, it seems, then, that your trouble was wasted 
after all,” laughed Captain Grenville. “ Even the won- 
derful boys you were good enough to tell us about while 
we were your guests on our own old ship could not 
find the pearl island.” 

“ I am not quite so sure of that,” said Sir Robert. 
“ They have on board at this moment fifty tons of 
shell which they must have obtained in a very short 
time.” 

“ The boys you speak of, sir, are my owners,” said 
Captain Inglis coldly. “ They have means of getting 
pearl shell without wasting time hunting the face of the 
ocean for islands.” 

“ I would give two or three average fortunes to know 
where that island has gone,” Sir Robert mused. “ Would 
you kindly convey that information to your owners ? ” 

“ No, I will not,” cried Inglis. “ I know them too 
well to do any such thing, and if you meant to suggest 
that I might benefit by giving you the information, I 
would like to tell you, sir, that there is not enough 
gold in the Bank of England and the exchequer of the 
Adventurers combined to tempt me to go back on my 
young friends. We beat you at your own game, and 
we’ll beat you next time too.” 

“ Are you a partner ? ” asked Sir Robert suavely, 
lighting a cigar. 

“ No, I am only a very ordinary paid skipper.” 


342 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Ah, then perhaps you had powerful friends in Aus- 
tralia who got you associated with the boys ? ” 

“ I have no friends in this world, sir, except my 
mother, who would care much whether I went to Davy 
Jones or not. But I fail to see the reason of your sud- 
den interest.” 

“ Well, I’ll tell you. It seems that neither Captain 
Grenville nor Mr. Preston knows where the island is, 
and it might therefore be as well non-existent if it can’t 
be found. Now, I happen to be endowed with more 
wealth than most people, and Herr Buelon is also over- 
burdened with the stuff that men sell their souls to ob- 
tain — ah, you are smiling, I assure you we are enor- 
mously wealthy ” 

“ We do not doubt that,” said Mr. Preston. “ We 
were smiling at your virtuous indignation at the idea 
that men should be willing to exchange their all for 
money.” 

“ Well, isn’t it a pity. What more can they get 
from life by so doing?*’ 

“ Oh, we’ve had enough of that,” cried Captain Inglis 
in disgust, and Captain Grenville looked at Sir Robert 
as though he thought he had gone mad. 

“ Yet we have had dealings with people lately,” said 
Captain Grenville pointedly, “ who committed the most 
unpardonable crimes, and it seems that some of them 
did not even have the excuse of needing money. You 
would make any one smile, sir; I suppose piracy is to 
you quite an honourable profession, and its accompany- 
ing crimes works of charity ? ” 

“ By no means. Piracy is a crime for which one 
deserves to be punished. I never tried to justify it.” 

“ But you are a common low-down pirate yourself,” 


Adventurers Find the Island 343 

put in Captain Inglis, “ and ought to be strung from 
the yard-arm.” 

“ You are unkind, Captain ; I may deserve all you 
say, but I was never a common low-down pirate. I 
was one of the first body of Adventurers, and they were 
gentlemen. Our blood called for an excitement that 
could not be found in hunting down defenceless quad- 
rupeds in Central Africa or elsewhere, and the world 
lay before us. We scorned money, for we had more 
than we could use. What then was open to us? What 
could satisfy the fierce insatiable poison in our blood? 
Only adventure wherein we pitted ourselves against 
powers stronger than we were, and where all our wits 
would be called upon to make up the deficiency. This 
promised royal sport, and we founded the organisa- 
tion of the Twentieth Century Adventurers, a world- 
wide brotherhood embracing all those wild spirits who 
found life as it was too tame.” 

“ How noble ! ” exclaimed Captain Grenville sarcas- 
tically. “ How glorious a sport for those brave daring 
people you talk of to attack helpless ships, and how 
fierce the excitement must have been in joining a private 
yacht as members of the crew, and casting its owner, 
his little daughter, his captain and chief engineer upon 
a Pacific island ” 

“ Believe me, sir, I knew nothing about that. It 
certainly was never intended that we should come down 
to making war upon people weaker than ourselves. 
We fought big insurance companies and governments. 
We did not recognise the right of any one nation to 
proclaim any part of the ocean as belonging to them 
exclusively, and therefore became filibusters as well. 
But why go on? We have degenerated. Only Herr 


344 


The Pearl Seekers 


Buelon, a few others scattered over the globe, and my- 
self are all that remain of the original Adventurers, and 
I admit that we cannot offer a word in favour of the 
Society as it now exists.” 

“ Then why not leave it? ” asked Mr. Preston. 

“ Because I said I would find that mysterious island, 
and with Herr Buelon vowed I would remain among 
our scoundrel companions until we did find it. Now 
I am back to where we started, and you know why I 
want the island. I am ready to pay any money for the 
knowledge as to its position, Captain ; I could then hand 
it over to the others and call myself square with them.” 

“ Well, sir,” said Inglis, “ if you go on looking for 
that island until you find it I am of opinion you will 
look a mighty long time.” 

“ But you know of it — I mean the people of this 
ship? ” 

“ Do we ? ” The Captain laughed and muttered 
something to himself, and at that moment the night 
clouds burst and the rain came down and quickly cleared 
every one but the officer on duty off the deck. As they 
descended the electric lights were switched on and Ah 
Sing ran round the ship with his gong. “ Only dlessing 
gong — only dlessing gong,” he was crying, quite 
oblivious of the fact that the noise he made with his 
gong drowned his words. 

Meanwhile the partners were making elaborate 
toilets in their cabins, for at dinner that evening they 
would meet their guests as civilised young gentlemen 
for the first time. The fact that a lady would grace 
the table too, caused their preparations to be more com- 
plete than was perhaps necessary under the circum- 
stances, although none would have admitted it. Half 


Adventurers Find the Island 34s 

an hour later Ah Sing sent his noisy summons round 
the ship again, and in response the largest party that 
had ever dined on the Cinderella trooped into the 
saloon. All were there except Stansbury ; he, of 
course, could not leave the bridge. The engines had 
been entrusted to the care of Aquinili after a severe 
mental struggle had been undergone by Thomson, who 
should have been on duty. Herr Buelon was also 
there ; he had made a rapid recovery since he had been 
under the care of his friend. 

The Cinderella rolled and pitched considerably, but 
nobody seemed to mind, and every one was in the best 
of spirits. Miss Preston had arrayed herself in a won- 
derful dress she had constructed from the material 
placed at her disposal, and all the boys thought her 
simply perfect. Thomson, however, was nothing if 
not practical, and after he had gazed at her for the 
twentieth time in admiration, he turned to Jack at his 
side and said : “ She is certainly a very pretty girl and 

a credit to Richard to have such a sister, but what 
beats me is how did she manage to build that dress, 
and what do you call that stuff it’s made of ? ” 

“ Shut up/' Jack whispered. “ You don’t rivet up 
dresses, and how can any man know the name of the 
stuff in a lady’s dress. It will be linoleum, or crepe de 
chine, or cretonne, or something of that sort.” 

Thomson thought Jack was guessing, but soon got 
into a conversation with the veteran engineer, Murray, 
on the improvements in engines and boilers during the 
last few years, and forgot all about Miss Preston. 

Not so Tom, however; he was the only one of the 
boys who did not seem bashful, and Captain Inglis 
smiled as he saw how interested the two appeared to 


346 


The Pearl Seekers 


be in each other. Both Sir Robert and Herr Buelon 
experienced very strange emotions as bit by bit the 
history of the boys’ expedition and the story of the 
castaways were made known to all, and had it not been 
for the reiterated statements of Mr. Preston and Captain 
Grenville that Sir Robert and Herr Buelon had treated 
them as guests while on board the Pacific Queen, and 
had several times prevented their subordinates from 
using compulsion to make them disclose the position 
of the island, the fiery Thomson would have made things 
unpleasant for them. 

Outside the storm raged fiercely, but inside the 
well-ventilated and well-lit saloon all were happy and 
cared little for the unpleasantness of the ship’s motion. 

“How are we heading now, Captain?” asked Tom, 
towards the end of the meal. “ I forgot that we had not 
decided what port we should make.” 

“ We are heading south, sir,” answered Captain 
Inglis. “ There was no time to inquire when we sailed 
where you wished to go, but unless you wish to hit the 
Canadian or United States mail line on the east or the 
German port of Astolabe in New Guinea on the west, 
our course is correct for all other ports in Australia, 
New Zealand, or the Fijis.” 

The telephone which had been connected between 
the bridge, engine-room, and saloon, called for attention 
at that moment, and Powell rose to answer it. 

“ You are wanted, Captain,” he said a moment later. 
“ Mr. Stansbury thinks the weather is changing and 
wishes instructions about something or other.” 

Captain Inglis stepped to the telephone. “ What is 
it, Stansbury ? ” he said. 


Adventurers Find the Island 347 

“ Is that you, Captain ? ” called the voice at the 
other end. 

“ Yes, of course. What is it?” 

“ Give me some proof that it is you.” 

“ Dear me ! I’ll come on deck and then you’ll soon 
feel pretty sure.” 

“ No, no. Don’t do that unless you have decided 
to let the other people know what I heard them being 
refused to-night already by you. Stay in the saloon 
and keep the others there except perhaps one of the 
boys. Who is skipper on the Marboo?” 

“ Seymour, of course. What has that got to do 
with the business ? ” 

“ Nothing, except that I know whom I am talking 
to now. There is a big steamer’s light directly in our 
course. I think it is the German cruiser, and we can’t 
afford to be overhauled this time seeing we have a 
cargo on board.” 

“ That’s true enough. I’ll come up.” 

“ I thought that we should swing round and run 
round the north end of the Solomons. We should reach 
Samarai in British New Guinea that way in three days.” 

“ But that course would take us almost over — Yes, 
you’re right.” 

“ I will swing her round gently, and no one will 
know when we altered the course even if they do notice 
the difference when they come on deck; the stars are 
all hidden anyway.” 

“ All right, Stansbury ; you will be relieved presently. 
Do as you have said.” 

The Captain sat down again, and did his best to 
promote conversation of a general nature, and during 


348 


The Pearl Seekers 


this Richard, in answer to his signal, excused himself 
to go on duty. 

Meanwhile Stansbury had thrown the Cinderella 
round in a long circling course, and when Richard 
appeared by his side he was bringing her up to a north 
by north-west course. He silently pointed over the 
stern to the lights of the big vessel just visible far to 
the south, and soon made Richard understand that they 
were running for another passage through the Solomons 
which would take them back past their pearling grounds. 
“ Captain Inglis,” he explained, “ agrees that it is best 
that our two Adventurer guests should not know where 
we are, so that if they are calculating by time as to 
where we should be at any hour they will be thrown out 
of their reckoning by this doubling on our course. It 
will also throw the pirates into the hands of the Ger- 
mans should they come after us, which I happen to 
know both Sir Robert and Herr Buelon expect.” 

“ But couldn’t we get past the cruiser by sailing to 
the east or west ? ” asked Richard. 

“ Yes, if we cared to go right round Malayta. They 
are watching the passage we came through coming up. 
It is, however, much sooner and safer, now that we know 
where we are, to go back and round the north-western 
end of Ysabel Island.” 

And so the partners thought when a couple of hours 
later they assembled on the bridge with Captain Inglis. 
The rain had ceased for a brief space, and the bridge 
was the only place where they were sure of not being 
overheard, for they did not wish their guests to know 
that trouble might yet overtake them in the shape of a 
German warship. As for Sir Robert and Herr Buelon, 
Captain Inglis had a wholesale distrust of them. “ They 


Adventurers Find the Island 349 

are only common pirates, boys,” he said, “ no matter 
what they call themselves. No doubt they think it 
safer now to play the part of the wealthy gentlemen 
fond of adventure and all that sort of thing. But my 
advice to you all is, let them know nothing of what we 
have done or intend doing; they’ll likely find it out for 
themselves anyhow.” 

There was a certain amount of wisdom in the Cap- 
tain’s words, and the partners agreed that it was wiser 
to keep their two Adventurer friends in ignorance of 
their plans. Having decided that they would make for 
Samarai, and thence proceed to Thursday Island in Torres 
Strait, where they could dispose of their cargo, all not 
on duty went to bed completely tired out. It was over 
forty hours since they had rested last, and much had 
been done in that time. 

The gallant Cinderella sailed on in the darkness 
of night, and near midnight Captain Inglis was awakened 
by the Kanaka on duty. 

“ Him boss on top want you, sir,” the man said. 
“Him say no make noise.” 

“ All right,” responded the Captain, turning out at 
once. “ I’ll be on deck in no time.” 

Hurrying out after the man the Captain soon stood 
beside Richard. The rain was falling again, and Rich- 
ard was tired, sleepy, and drenched to the skin. 

“ I am sorry I slept over my time,” the Captain 
said. “ How is the course ? ” 

“ North by north-west, sir,” replied Richard. “ But 
I didn’t send for you to relieve me. What do you 
make of that over on the starboard ? ” 

The Captain levelled his night-glasses in the direc- 
tion Richard indicated and kept them to his eyes for 


350 


The Pearl Seekers 


a full minute. He saw a number of lights appearing 
and disappearing as they were hidden in the trough of 
the swell or borne upon its crest. 

“ This part of the world is getting as thick with 
traffic as a mail route,” the Captain growled. “ That 
is a suspicious-looking craft. She carries no masthead 
lights ; she is travelling fast too. By the Great G.R., I 
believe she is that confounded pirate again ! ” 

“Just what I thought,” said Richard, “so I ordered 
the Kanaka who roused you to put out all lights. I 
don’t think they could have seen us, and if they did 
get a glimpse of our lights they’ll never dream it is us.” 

“ Well, go down and turn in. I’ll send for you if 
things develop. We’re not going to worry ourselves 
over a pirate craft that we have already beaten.” 

Richard was too tired to make further comment, and 
went below at once. The lights approached rapidly 
and passed quite close, apparently the ship bearing them 
being southward bound. Inglis watched them recede 
until suddenly they became lost to sight, then he made 
a careful calculation by aid of a tiny screened electric 
lamp and smiled to himself. He could just see high 
among the clouds in the east north-east a dull red glow, 
and a cloud parting at the moment disclosed the distant 
summit of the volcano. 

“ Captaine, sir,” spoke a voice underneath the bridge. 
“ Captaine, I think I want speak good to you.” The 
voice was that of the man who had been doing deck 
duty. 

“ All right,” said Inglis. “ Come up and out with 
it.” 

“ No think fellow talk slow an’ say, er — er — much 
good,” went on the Kanaka, coming on the bridge. 


Adventurers Find the Island 351 


“ You tell me put all lights out. I put all lights out. 
He say to me what for I do that? I say to him 
Capitaine’s orders. He laugh an’ walk away.” 

“What?” cried the Captain. “Was he on deck?” 

“ My word, you bet. Him stand at stern of ship. 
After he go away I go away, but no like him an’ I go 
back quiet an’ see him there again. He no see me an* 
he light something in his hand which make big ’lectric 
light. I come here an’ tell you. Him there now.” 

“ Pete,” spoke the Captain, and his voice was hard, 
“ do you see that star through that big cloud above 
the fore-mast ? ” 

“ Yes, sir, Capitaine.” 

“ Well, I want you to stand here and take this wheel 
in your hand. When the mast moves to one side of 
the star turn the wheel until it comes back, but keep the 
mast always under the star. You understand?” 

“ You bet, sir. I steer ship before. I know.” The 
Kanaka took the wheel, and the Captain rang up the 
engine-room on the telephone. 

It was answered immediately. 

“Who’S on duty just now?” asked the Captain. 

“ Murray. I am letting the laddies have a much- 
needed rest,” came the reply. “ Anything wrong ? ” 

“ Yes. Don’t say a word, but come on deck at once.” 
Next instant the Captain had dropped lightly to the 
deck, and with noiseless feet ran along towards the 
stern. A man was leaning over the rail ; in his hands 
were two burning pieces of magnesium wire, and vivid 
flashes lit up the ocean like an electric lamp for a con- 
siderable distance in the wake of the vessel. He held 
his hands in a peculiar position, and evidently was sig- 
nalling to something unseen. But if so, his message 


352 


The Pearl Seekers 


ceased abruptly, for like a wild cat Captain Inglis sprang 
at him and hauled him back on the deck. The man 
was as lithe* as a piece of spring steel, however, and 
twisting out of the Captain’s grip he turned and closed 
with him again on equal terms. The two men swayed 
in deadly silence and in total darkness. “ You skulking 
treacherous snake!” gasped Inglis, as he lifted his op- 
ponent off his feet and endeavoured to throw him. 

“ Save your wind, old man, you’ll need it,” said the 
other, wriggling out of grips and seizing the Captain in 
arms that dosed on him like a vice. “ I never consented 
to come with you quietly, and my parole - expired at 
two o’clock* this afternoon.” 

With a great effort of strength the Captain .tried to 
throw the encircling arms off, but the man only laughed. 
“ You can’t do it,” he said. “ I have never met the man 
yet who could get out of my clutch. You are going 
overboard.” 

“ There you are wrong ! ” spluttered Inglis. “ How 
about this ? ” He turned his right foot around the 
other’s leg and pushed with all his strength away from 
him. For a moment the man resisted the strain, but 
his balance was already upset and he moved back ever 
so slightly, but quite enough to be tripped by the Cap- 
tain’s leg, and both men fell heavily to the deck and 
rolled over and over still in each other’s grip. They* 
were both breathless, and each wondered if he could 
outlast the other. Then suddenly each slackened hold 
and felt for the other’s throat. That was about the last 
effort they could put forth, and as their hands closed 
with deadly intent they knew that it was but a ques- 
tion of who could hold out the longer., Captain Inglis 
set his teeth and squeezed harder, and then suddenly 


353 


Adventurers Find the Island 

found himself released. He sat up and saw Murray 
pulling his opponent away, and then Thomson, Captain 
Grenville, and Jack rushed up and assisted him to rise. 

“What is it? Are you hurt?” asked Thomson. 

“ No, I’ll be all right in a minute. Let me get a 
breath or two. He was signalling to the pirates. Go 
to the wheel, some one.” 

Captain Grenville at once complied. 

“ Man, how did you no’ say whaur the trouble was 
an’ I wad hae seen to it,” spoke Murray. “ I had to 
go on the bridge before I kent you were back here.” 

“ Oh, it’s all over now anyway.” 

“ No, it isn’t,” laughed the man Murray held firmly. 
“ They are on you now. They will ram you in a few 
minutes.” 

“ What-^Sir Robert ! ” cried Jack in surprise. 
“What is the meaning of this?” 

“ The meaning is, young man, that you thought to 
keep the fact thatjthe course was altered to yourselves, 
and forgot that my parole expired long ago. Taking 
both together I saw I was breaking no trust in flashing 
a piece of magnesium wire. I have done so, and very 
soon I shall be able to entertain you all on the Pacific 
Queen again. I bear you no grudge, Captain, you did 
your duty; but your grip is very uncomfortable.” 

“ It will be a bit more so the next time. Take him 
away, boys, and put him in irons.” 

“You really should not give that order, Captain; 
my boys may deal very harshly with you when they 
discover their leader in that position.” 

“ Discover you ? They’ll discover the island before 
they do that.” 

“ Oh, I venture to think you are wrong. See that 
(b 761) X 


354 


The Pearl Seekers 


black shape rushing through the darkness close astern 
just now. Look for a moment and you’ll see it. That 
is the Pacific Queen , with masked lights. She is chasing 
you in response to my signal, and she can travel seventeen 
knots. I think I will know where that island is before 
very long now.” 

“ Leave him alone, boys,” Captain Inglis said ab^ 
ruptly. “ Switch on the lights, some one.” 

“ I see the thing now,” cried Jack excitedly. “ They 
will run us down directly.” 

“ Thomson,” continued the Captain, and a new light 
shone in his eyes, “ go and stand by the engines. Mr. 
Murray, will you kindly awaken every one on board ex- 
cept Miss Preston ? ” 

“ Oh, if you think you can fight,” said Sir Robert, 
“ let me assure you haven’t the slightest chance. The 
Pacific Queen carries half-a-dozen quick-firers in her 
hold, and her men will be raging demons now. Do not, 
I entreat you, endanger yourselves needlessly by at- 
tempting to resist.” 

But Captain Inglis had departed to the bridge. 

“ Captain Grenville,” he said, as he relieved that 
gentleman at the wheel, “ that volcano peak you can 
just see on our starboard is six thousand five hundred 
feet in height; we are fifteen feet above water here. 
Kindly work out the distance between its base centre and 
our position.” 

Captain Grenville seized a sextant and with trained 
hands adjusted it. “ Our angle is 2*4 degrees,” he said. 
“ That is ” — he figured out something rapidly — “ that 
is almost exactly twenty-five miles we are distant.” 

“ Thank you,” said Captain Inglis. “ That is what 
I made it.” He threw the wheel round, and brought 


Adventurers Find the Island 355 

the peak in line exactly due east; then he laughed 
aloud. 

The Cinderella was now ablaze with light, and the 
craft following, seeing that there was no longer any 
need to hide, flashed her lights over the water. All 
eyes were turned upon the swift monster flying through 
the jocean ; she looked gigantic as her bows towered above 
the Cinderella's stern, and the boys grimly waited the 
moment when those bows would smash into them. 

“ Half speed,” rang out the engine bell, and instantly 
Thomson slowed his engines in response. 

“What does the Captain mean?” cried Jack. 
“ They’ll hit us harder if we slow down.” 

“ He has lost his head with the excitement,” sneered 
Sir Robert. “ But don’t be alarmed, my young friends, 
the Pacific Queen will not really ram us ; they know 
Herr Buelon and I are here or they would have fired 
long ago. You will be well looked after, and when 
you let me know where that island is you will be landed 
at any port you please.” 

“ You will have no interest in our doings at any rate,” 
said Tom, who had now come up. “ At the moment of 
impact I will shoot you.” He raised his revolver to 
Sir Robert’s head and all waited. 

“ You want to know where the pearl island is, Sir 
Robert ? ” cried Captain Inglis from the bridge. 

“ Ah, I thought you would tell. Quick, then, so 
that I can stop the Pacific Queen ” 

“ The Pacific Queen has just discovered it for herself, 
as I told you she would,” shouted the Captain. He 
seized the telegraph lever and rang down “ Stop ! ” to 
the engine-room. 

The assembled crowd on the Cinderella gazed in 


35 ^ 


The Pearl Seekers 


non-comprehending astonishment at what they saw, and 
their sense of hearing added to their unbounded be- 
wilderment. 

The Pacific Queen had stopped, a dull ripping grind- 
ing sound filled the air, and then the shrieks of frenzied 
men resounded. As they watched she heeled over on 
her side until her decks were almost perpendicular, the 
dense cloud of smoke pouring from her funnel suddenly 
became white, and volumes of steam burst from her 
decks. Next moment there was a terrific sea-shaking 
report, and her funnel and the entire central part of the 
ship was blown into the air. In a moment the boys 
understood , everything. Captain Inglis had led the 
Pacific Queen across the submerged island; its highest 
point reached to within two and a half fathoms of the 
surface, which the light Cinderella had safely sailed 
over but on which the deeper draught Pacific Queen had 
left her bottom. 

A shout from Jack made them withdraw their eyes 
for a moment. They saw Sir Robert standing on the 
Cinderella's rail. “ Good-bye, gentlemen,” he cried. 
“ You have beaten us in all points, but I have found 
the island.” He plunged into the raging sea before 
any one could move to stay him, and in the light of 
the Cinderella's tail lamp they say him swimming to- 
wards the wrecked vessel. 

“ They’re in no danger,” said Captain Inglis, “ and 
we’d better be moving again ; besides, some of us will 
be needing sleep.” He pointed to the south as he 
spoke where the mast-head lights of a big steamer were 
fast coming nearer. “ That is the German cruiser,” he 
continued. “ They will attend to our pirate friends, and 
it is time we were not here.” 



b 761 

“NEXT moment there was a terrific sea-shaking report 













































































































































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Adventurers Find the Island 357 

“ Full speed ahead! ” rang out as he spoke, and like 
a thing of life the Cinderella gathered herself together 
and leaped forward. 

The lights of the cruiser were close to the submerged 
island before they had gone far. . . . 

Next morning a warm sun played over the waves, 
and at dinner that day Tom said : “ It is only fitting, 
perhaps, that I should say our expedition has been suc- 
cessful in every way. Some of us have regained those 
mourned for as lost, and all of us have made profit out 
of our co-partnership. I find I have over a hundred 
pearls, which Mr. Murray tells me are worth from one 
to five hundred pounds each ; that with our shell should 
make a substantial return to the seven partners.” 

“Seven?” said Captain Inglis. “There are only 
five of you.” 

“ Five originally,” answered Tom, “ but they had 
power to add to that figure, and they have decided that 
it is very desirable that Captain Inglis and his junior 
officer, Mr. Stansbury, should be added to their number. 
We shall be in a civilised port the day after to-morrow, 
and can then decide whether or not we should build 
another diver containing one or ten additional improve- 
ments that have suggested themselves to Thomson and 
Powell and go back on another expedition.” 

“ My boys, I have wealth enough to equip you with 
every appliance, and I will endeavour to procure a con- 
cession of the island from the German Government,” 
said Mr. Preston. “ Only come home with us first and 
have a rest.” 

“What do the partners say?” asked Tom, glancing 
round. ' 


35 § 


The Pearl Seekers 


“ Of course. Let us take the use of our money,” 
said Jack. “ We are well-off now.” 

Thomson and Powell nodded assent, and Miss Flora 
seemed greatly disappointed that Tom had even had 
the idea of doing anything else. She said nothing, how- 
ever. 

“ What do you say, Captain? ” continued Tom. But 
the Captain’s emotion would not allow him to reply, 
nor could Stansbury when the question * was put to 
him. 

Two days afterwards they touched at Samarai, and 
three days later dropped anchor in Port Kennedy, the 
township on Thursday Island in Torres Strait. Here 
they disposed of their pearls and shell to the satisfaction 
of all concerned; but the largest and finest gem was, 
with the approval of the other partners, presented to 
Miss Preston by Tom. 

Here also they gave Herr Buelon his liberty, and 
that gentleman, with many expressions of regret for 
what had happened, sailed that afternoon for Singapore 
on a vessel just leaving. Before he went he insisted on 
making some recompense for all the trouble caused by 
the Adventurers, but Mr. Preston told him coldly that 
none was required. The German seemed very much 
grieved at not being allowed to do something to show his 
sincerity, but that night a note was found in his old 
cabin, containing an open cheque on a London bank, 
and requesting that Mr. Preston would fill it in for the 
value of the Southern Cross. 

“ Here, Murray,” Mr. Preston said, handing him the 
cheque, “ I think Grenville, you and I will be partners 
too. We don’t need Herr Buelon’s money, but I know 
matters are not so fortunate with you. Fill in that 


Adventurers Find the Island 359 

cheque in your own name for the value of a third share 
in the Southern Cross. We may as well forgive the 
man, and this will let him know that we have done so.” 

In Sydney a week later Mr. Preston gave a banquet 
in the Hotel Australia, at which were present all the 
partners and their old friends. A very guarded story 
came out in the Telegraph the following morning, for 
Mr. Penfold expected to go with the next expedition 
and did not wish to draw too | much attention to it. 

Kotay, Ah Sing, Aquinili, and two of the Kanakas 
are now waiting for the return of the pearl-seekers at 
Thursday Island. They have not yet spent the money 
they made out of the trip, and next time they will 
not be asked to sail in the same positions they occupied 
during the first- cruise. 1 









































































































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